Silence
by KatyWritesStuff
Summary: Zelda Harkinian, a deaf elementary school student relentlessly bullied by Link Forrester in their younger years. Fast forward to high school, where Link is dealing with some problems and makes it his goal to apologize to Zelda for their past. [Zelink, Modern AU. Based off of "A Silent Voice."] Cover art: finnichang on tumblr.
1. one

_Italics—Words spoken in sign language. This occurs throughout the entirety of the story. Everything not in italics is spoken verbally._

Zelda hoped, wished, and prayed to the divine goddess Hylia, that this new city and new school would bring happiness and hope to her lonely heart.

Looking up at the lone skies, her thoughts drifted high up into the clouds as she kept her hand held tightly in her mother's hand. Her blue eyes stayed fixated on the skies above, until her mother squeezed her dainty hand to distract her from the clouds. Little Zelda looked away from the sky and at her mother.

" _Are you excited to see your new school?_ " her mother signed to her, and Zelda nodded with a small grin adorning her features.

" _Momma, do you think the other kids can speak like this?_ " Zelda signed to her mother.

Zelda's mother froze before she could lift up her hands to sign to her again, thinking deeply about which words she should use and how she should use them. She didn't want to hurt the little girl's feelings, never. However, Zelda needed to know that not everyone knew sign language. It was not as common as what everyone else spoke.

Her mother signed the two words, " _We'll see_ ," to her daughter, clutching onto Zelda's small and dainty hand as they approached the front doors of Zelda's new elementary school.

Zelda became lost in thought the moment her mother touched the handle of the large glass door. They entered the school building together, but with Zelda still thinking about anything that came across her mind.

 _What if the kids don't like me? Momma wouldn't want that, she said that it's nice to make new friends. I hope that the kids are nice to me. I'll be nice to them, and hopefully they can talk to me too._

The duo entered the principal's office, and Zelda watched her feet whisk her away into a different room with brighter lights and colorful carpeting. She blinked once before looking upwards, seeing a smiling and older looking woman sitting in a chair, behind a desk and a large computer.

"You must be Zelda Harkinian," the principal spoke, and Zelda's mother tapped Zelda's shoulder to grasp her attention.

When Zelda looked her way, her mother signed the words that the principal had said. Zelda nodded once she understood what the principal said to her. She kept her eyes glued on her mother, because staring at the principal while she moved her mouth around silently wouldn't benefit her in any way.

"I'll just need you to sign a couple of papers before you can leave. You'll also need to the tuition before the end of the month, for her enrollment," the principal spoke to Mrs. Harkinian.

"Wonderful," said Zelda's mother, grabbing one of the pens and clicking the end of it, placing it on the first of many papers and beginning to jot down what needed to be written out.

Zelda stared blankly at her mother, waiting for her to sign something to her, but when she realized that her mother was busy at the moment, she looked back at her feet. They dangled over the edge of the brown chair, and she looked at her mother's feet to see that both of her feet touched the floor without struggle.

 _I hope I can be tall like Momma some day_ , Zelda thought, a cheery smile spreading across her lips when she imagined herself as a young woman.

She envisioned a beautiful lady who looked somewhat similar to her mother, and she had the same chocolate brown hair and ocean blue eyes that the younger Zelda had. And she was tall, wearing a smile on her face.

Zelda wondered what her future would look like.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, until a full two hours had passed and Zelda had finally been enrolled into Hyrule Elementary School.

Zelda and her mother exited the principal's office, Zelda waving a silent goodbye to her new principal, who she was already fond of, despite only seeing her speak once to her mother.

As they began to leave the school, Zelda grabbed her mother's attention.

" _When does school start for me?_ " she signed to her mom, and the older woman thought about it for a moment.

" _You'll be starting in two days—on a Friday_ ," her mother signed back, continuing to walk until they had reached the end of the long hallway and the doors that lead to the world outside the large school.

They both exited, and Zelda's mother knelt down in front of her daughter with a smile gleaming on her face.

" _Are you excited for your first day of kindergarten?_ " she signed to her daughter, and Zelda gasped before nodding. Obviously, she was very excited for her first day of school.

" _I can't wait to learn and make lots of new friends_ ," Zelda signed back, wearing a wide grin on her small and round face.

Her mother just chuckled, scooping her daughter up into her arms and adjusting her in them. Zelda now sat against her mother's hip, as the woman began to make her way towards their car.

 _Hopefully... Yes, hopefully, Zelda does make lots of new friends_ , her mother thought.


	2. two

The day had finally arrived. Zelda Harkinian's first day of elementary school—kindergarten!

The brunette girl wore a cute smile on her face as she trotted into the kitchen, clutching her purple backpack and throwing it on the table.

Zelda looked at her mother expectingly, grin deepening when she discovered that her mother had made pancakes for her. Those had always been her favorite breakfast. They were more like a treat, which is the main reason why she enjoyed them so much.

They both sat down at the kitchen table, Zelda immediately digging into her plate of chocolate chip pancakes and sighing when the delicious and fluffy pancakes entered her mouth. The chocolate and the pancakes blended perfectly together and made this morning twice as good.

" _You excited?_ " Mother signed to her, and Zelda nodded eagerly as she continued to wolf her breakfast.

Finishing in an exceptional amount of time, Zelda grabbed her plate and skipped over to the dishwasher. She sloppily placed her plate and fork in there, skipping back over to Mother, who wore a proud grin on her face.

Mother cleaned up breakfast before doing anything else, and quickly got freshened up herself. When that was finished, she gently took Zelda's hand and lead her to the front of their driveway. The bus would be here soon.

" _Momma, do you think the kids there will like me?_ " she signed, and it took Mother awhile to think of a suitable reply that wouldn't crush her hope and spirit.

" _You're a wonderful girl, of course they'll like you. Just smile and wave to them, that's all they'll need_ ," Mother signed, and Zelda nodded after she read her words.

The yellow bus pulled up beside Zelda's home, coming to an abrupt stop. The exhaust from the engine in the back released, leaving a smoky and disgusting scent traveling Zelda's way. When she got a whiff of the exhaust, she fanned her nose and coughed a bit.

Mother hated the smell too, but she couldn't help but giggle at little Zelda's reaction. It looked so innocent and pure to her.

Mother kissed Zelda on the cheek before she could take that first step on the bus that would take her away to a whole new world - school. Mother had always been anxious about this day, and now it was finally here.

And with Zelda being deaf, she began to wonder what the kids really would think of her daughter.

Pulling her into a tight hug, Mother felt tears brimming in the corners of her blue eyes. She didn't want to let go, but Zelda pulled away and smiled innocently at her mother. Oh, she was so innocent. She didn't know what she would enter.

Zelda skipped into the bus, the smile leaving her face once she saw the large row of kids sitting in the two person capacity seats. The colors of the bus were boring, with the bland gray seats and the basic white and black colored grounds. Zelda wondered if traveling on this every morning would really be worth it.

She would have to see after her first day of school was over.

The brunette girl smiled cutely at her new bus driver, who returned the smile but it was obviously forced. Zelda just didn't know that people faked happiness to be polite or make others not worry.

She didn't know what all of those negative thoughts meant. Wasn't everything happy and wasn't every _one_ happy?

Sitting down in the first seat on her left, she looked over at a boy with chestnut colored hair and striking blue eyes that reminded Zelda of her mother's eyes, in a way. But this boy's eyes were different. And Zelda had no idea what made them so different, but she loved them.

Zelda waved and smiled her signature cute grin again, looking straight ahead and out the front window of the bus. The boy just stared at her oddly, wondering why she hadn't spoken at all yet. All the other students have, even if they were shy or outgoing, they at least said hi to the bus driver.

He had said hello to the bus driver, so why hadn't she?

Zelda watched as the bus parked in one of the spots near the school, watching with bright eyes as other students of all ages entered the large building she had seen a few days before.

The bus doors opened, and Zelda saw the boy next to her wince and a few others as well. Why were they wincing? Had the doors opening produced some funky scent?

Ignoring this fact, Zelda stood up from her seat and tried getting off the bus. But a few other students from the other grades had already piled to the front, moving their mouths widely and smiling broadly. Shoving through the narrow aisles, Zelda almost tripped and fell over and on top of the chestnut haired boy.

She looked at him earnestly, hoping that he'd know how to get out of here. Should she just wait until everyone got off? No, then she'd be late!

The boy gave her an odd look and began to move his mouth around. Zelda noticed that a lot of people did that, but she herself had never done it - she didn't even know how to. She could open her mouth, but not like how everyone else did.

Zelda decided that she wouldn't be getting any help from this boy, so she slipped into the waves of her peers exiting the bus. Alas, she managed to get off of that vehicle.

She ran into the classroom— _her_ classroom; she remembered its number and everything. Sitting down at one of the random circular tables and in one of the yellow chairs, she excitedly awaited for class to start.

The whole room had filled up with students, and Zelda saw her new teacher enter the room wearing a broad smile on her face.

She started to move her mouth around in a specific way, just like everyone else had. Zelda heaved a light sigh and began to fiddle with the pink bows on her outfit. If everyone was going to move their mouths, there was no point in her participating.

Moments passed, before someone next to her harshly poked her shoulder. Zelda glanced up and over at the person, noticing a red haired girl smiling innocently at her. The redhead moved her mouth, and Zelda noticed that after she had done that, everyone turned and glued their eyes on Zelda.

Zelda didn't know what was happening.

She just shook her head and looked down. She didn't look back up, but when someone touched her shoulder again she did.

It was the chestnut haired boy, and he was laughing at her. Why?

Everyone was laughing at her. Why?


	3. three

A year had passed, and Zelda was in the first grade now. School hadn't gotten any better for her. Her grades were fine as always and she genuinely enjoyed learning—it was just the kids in her class that caused her problems.

Especially the chestnut haired kid that she met in kindergarten, Link Forrester.

Everybody moved their mouths around, and Zelda soon discovered that this was called talking. She didn't know how to do it, and she never did.

One day, she tried to talk like the other kids in her class, but after she had felt her throat vibrate, everyone began to laugh. Zelda wondered what she had said wrong, because the looks on their faces didn't look like they were laughing with her—no, they were laughing _at_ her. She couldn't hear them, but she knew what laughing was.

She immediately closed her mouth and told the teacher without using words that she needed to use the bathroom.

Zelda opened the classroom door, wearing a neutral expression on her face. The moment she shut the door, she dashed off to the bathrooms, holding her bathroom pass and feeling her hands begin to shake. What was she afraid of?

She made it to the bathroom, entering the ladies room and locking herself in one of the boring green stalls. Tears pooled in her blue eyes, but she knew good and well these were tears. She was just surprised—Zelda never usually cried or became this weak—she was stronger than this. She hated herself for getting this low.

But the way everyone looked at her when she had tried talking like them scared her so much. Especially the look on Link's face. He looked like he was relishing in watching her suffer emotionally.

Zelda closed her eyes tightly and let her tears gush out, feeling her nose begin to run and her body begin to shake as she stood there in that bathroom stall. She couldn't hear her cries, but she didn't know she could make small noises when she did cry.

When she had had enough of her tears, she wiped her eyes with the long sleeve of her blue shirt, taking deep breaths before exiting the stall. She went out to the sinks and looked in the mirror, noticing that her eyes were red and puffy. That usually happened when you cried.

Zelda kept breathing in and out at a certain pace, feeling her mind begin to calm down slowly but surely. And while she was calming herself down, the reddish color around her eyes began to disappear.

Looking at her appearance once more, she thought she looked better now. They wouldn't know that she had cried.

Grabbing her bathroom pass, little Zelda ran back to her classroom and threw a fake smile on her face before entering.

The other kids all stopped to look at her, a bit perplexed as to why she was smiling so happily. In reality, Zelda wanted to go home because of how humiliated she felt.

When recess approached, Zelda was the second person to exit the school building and run free on the large playground.

She hadn't made any friends yet, so she decided to just climb the jungle gym and play around in it. Maybe she could swing on the swings, too.

While she was climbing the jungle gym's ladder, Link pulled her down to the ground. Luckily, she had only gotten about two feet away from the ground, so the impact wasn't terribly bad.

Zelda gave him a weird look, and Link just snorted, although she didn't hear it. She shakily lifted up her hands and tried to sign to him—maybe he knew her language, too.

But when she began to sign, Link's eyes popped out of his skull in disbelief.

"What? So you can't hear anything?" Link teased, speaking as loud as possible to attract as much attention as he could. "I can say anything to you and you wouldn't even know!"

A group of kids had gathered around Link and Zelda, watching amusingly and awaiting whatever was about to happen.

Link had begun saying terrible words to her; not curse words, but terrible insults that Zelda would have cried over if she could hear them. But she couldn't, and only watched Link taunt her silently and feeling the eyes of others staring down her back and making her more uncomfortable.

Then Link began to laugh, and Zelda turned her head to see that everyone else was too. Once again, at _her_.

Zelda had already had enough of Link, and she wanted him to just stop. She had lost control of her body, and threw a punch at his nose. Looking around, everyone had their mouths gaped open in absolute shock.

Link stumbled back and fell onto his bottom, holding his nose the entire time.

Little Zelda cupped her hands over her mouth and just watched as Link struggled to stand back up.

 _What have I done?_ Zelda questioned herself.

She shook her head, feeling tears begin to brim the corners of her eyes again. She tried teaching her hand out to Link to offer help, but he immediately smacked her hand away.

Then, he began to scream.

The teachers rushed over and their faces scrunched up when they removed Link's hand from his nose and saw blood leaking out of it. Link pointed at Zelda, and that was the first time Zelda had visited the principal's office.

 _I shouldn't have punched him. What was I thinking? That wasn't me, right? No, something must've made me do that. I would never punch anyone, even if they were annoying me,_ Zelda thought as she awaited her mother's arrival in the principal's office.

When Mother arrived, Zelda felt her heart drop when she saw the somewhat disappointed look on her mother's face. When the talk with the principal was over, Zelda walked out of the principal's office with her mom. She was to go home early today because of what she did to Link.

Mother knelt down in front of Zelda and signed the words, " _Why did you punch that boy?_ " to her.

Zelda wanted to admit the truth so badly. She wanted to tell her mother that Link and the others had been teasing her because she couldn't talk like them and because of the language she used. She wanted to tell Mother how she cried in the bathroom after everyone had laughed at her mistake, and how she had no control when she did punch Link. She wanted to say that she was not okay with all this bullying and her tears.

But instead, she signed, " _I don't know, but everything's fine_ ," to her mother.

And that was the first time Zelda had told a lie.


	4. four

Zelda was now in the fourth grade, and she had never genuinely enjoyed school—ever. When had anyone?

She had made a new friend named Midna Twilit, a girl who Zelda thought was much prettier than her. Midna didn't know sign language at first, but once she realized Zelda was deaf and couldn't speak, she tried to learn as much as she could of it.

They had been friends since second grade, and Midna had mastered sign language at the beginning of fourth grade.

Zelda was very thankful to have someone as caring and kind as Midna for a best friend. Midna hadn't made that many friends either, so it was nice to just have each other in their lives.

But nobody had stopped bullying Zelda ever since she punched Link in first grade. Whenever she was alone, she angrily thought to herself, _why can't they just let that go?_

She knew it was because of her deafness, though. Zelda wished she wasn't like this. Mother always told her that she was fine like this, but someone deep in Zelda's mind always told her otherwise. Zelda always thought of that voice as Link, since he teased her the most.

Zelda was at school right now, staring at her gross looking lunch. She had forgotten to pack her lunch today, so she brought some money and bought the school's lunch. School lunch was never good, but Zelda didn't want to starve until she came home in the afternoon.

" _This looks disgusting_ ," Zelda signed to Midna, which the orange haired girl agreed on as she picked at her own school lunch.

" _This is the first time I've looked at pizza and said no_ ," Midna signed back and Zelda cracked a smile and laughed a little, picking up the pizza and taking the smallest bite off of the tip of it.

She spit it out. " _Good thing I got fruit and stuff_ ," Zelda signed to Midna, grabbing her carton of milk and opening it. Then, she grabbed the mandarin oranges she had gotten and ate one.

" _Y'know, I wish they had popcorn chicken today, that's like—the only okay thing they serve here_ ," Midna signed and giggled a bit afterwards, eating her pizza and suffering while doing so.

Then all of a sudden Link sat down at their table. He had brought his own lunch today.

" _Lucky him_ ," Zelda signed to Midna. Link couldn't understand this language, so she could outwardly insult Link to Midna only and she'd laugh while Link stared at them in bewilderment.

He gave Zelda an odd look, but she was used to seeing that facial expression on him. It showed disgust—he was disgusted by just her presence. It didn't really get to Zelda that much, but she always wondered why only one person in this swarm of kids wanted to be her friend. Otherwise, no one else did. Link. It was _Link's_ fault.

Link looked at Midna and grinned. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked her.

Zelda didn't know what was going on, but Midna had the ability to talk like Link and the others did. She looked at her friend and watched the girl roll her eyes, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. The brunette girl watched as Midna talked to Link.

Zelda had actually been able to read a handful of words off of people's lips—by a handful, I mean only four words. _Go away, Zelda_ and _hello_. Not much, and Zelda wanted to learn more. She wanted to _talk_.

"Sure. Don't say a word to Zelda," Midna said to Link, and the chestnut haired boy rolled his eyes back at her and sat down.

Unzipping his lunchbox, he pulled out his peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich, grabbing the water and pretzels he had in there as well. He ripped open the plastic bag of pretzels, grabbing one and throwing it in his mouth. As he began to chew, he noticed Zelda staring almost longingly at the food he had.

Link, with food still in his mouth, raised an eyebrow and then looked over at Midna.

"What does she want?" he questioned her.

Midna glanced at Zelda, then at Zelda's food tray, and then at Link's better-looking food.

"Have you ever tasted the cafeteria food?" Midna asked Link, stifling a chuckle as she spoke.

Link thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I tried it once in kindergarten. All I remember is that it was really gross, so my parents decided to pack my lunch everyday since then."

Midna nodded, picking up one of the grapes on her tray and chucking it at Link's forehead. It hit him a bit harshly, and the boy winced at the short moment of pain he felt. Then he glared at Midna.

"Do you have anything else in your lunchbox?" Midna asked. "If you do...give something to Zelda."

Link bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at her _outrageous_ statement. "Psh, why would I want to give food to her?"

"I don't know what sort of grudge you have against her, but cut it out. If you're just going to tease her without her even knowing, then please leave," Midna stated, and by her tone of voice Link could tell that she was pissed now.

"Why did you even sit here if you hate Zelda?" Midna asked in a quieter tone, making sure nobody else around them overheard.

Link stared at Midna in disbelief, a bit taken aback by her words. He sighed in defeat and looked inside his lunchbox, finding a granola bar and a Hershey's chocolate bar in there. He glanced at Zelda, then at Midna, and back at Zelda. He finally gave it up and handed his food to Zelda.

Zelda watched as Link held out both items to her, with one of the most annoyed faces she had seen him make. She noticed that his eyes were beautiful, but why would a fourth grader think that? She hadn't had any crushes before, but she always thought Link was a little cute. Even if he teased her the most.

Nonetheless, she gingerly accepted his offers with a barely visible blush on her cheeks. This moment felt almost surreal. She grinned when she unwrapped the wrapper of the granola bar, taking a bite of it and tasting its goodness.

She sighed a thank you to Link, returning to eating the granola bar. Link nodded and then looked at Midna.

"Thank you," Midna thanked. "I still want to know why you're sitting here if you don't like her."

Link didn't want to answer, but he also wanted to tell someone.

"All my friends ditched me for this new kid. I hate him—I don't even know his name! All I know is that he stole all my friends and—and he doesn't even talk to me either. It's obvious he hates me..." Link ranted, feeling more distraught as he spoke more and more about his problem.

"This is what Zelda felt like for a long time. And me, too," Midna said. "Now you know what it feels like to be alone."

"Yeah... I need to stop..." Link said, tugging at strands of his hair and releasing a heavy sigh. "I need to stop teasing Zelda. She can't hear me, though, right? I want to apologize."

"She hates you for what you've done to her. Don't expect her to apologize so quickly," Midna stated.

"I'll—I'll make it up to her—no. I'll prove to her that—that I'm sorry... I hate myself for what I've done to her..." Link rambled on and on, but Midna eventually lost him as his words grew quieter and were muffled by food.

Midna wasn't ready to take his words into pity.

But Zelda had finally learned a new statement that people said— _I'm sorry_.

She didn't want to accept Link's apology, though. No, he hurt her too much.

Maybe one day. Not now.

He looked sad, though. Was he sad or was he just being dramatic? She couldn't tell with Link.

And she couldn't ask him, either.

 _I'll talk to Midna about it later_ , she thought, finishing off her granola bar and eating her mandarin oranges.


	5. five

" _You look nice, dear_ ," Mother signed to her daughter, smoothing out the small creases in the black skirt that Zelda wore.

Zelda stared down at her outfit, an outfit consisting of blacks and whites, designed nicely with expensive materials. After all, the Harkinian's were a wealthy family. Zelda saw no point in spending money on expensive clothes, but her parents liked doing just that.

This outfit made her look proper and fancy—something that could go a good way or a bad way.

Others would think she was stuck up or snobby, while the other half of those people would admire her clothes and worship the ground she walked once they discovered she was rich.

Zelda bit her lip when her father walked in, wearing a grin on his face when he laid eyes on his happy daughter.

Father began to talk to Mother, then smiled at Zelda and signed the words, " _Breakfast is ready._ "

Zelda nodded and signed for them to leave her room, which they obediently obliged to, talking happily as they closed the door to her large room.

 _Happy daughter_. That's what he thought, that's what Mother also thought, but they didn't know.

The brunette was dreading her first day of high school. Who wouldn't in her situation? She had only had one friend throughout the fifteen years she had lived, and in the eyes of society, that proved you had no life.

Why do people care so much about the quantity of your friends? Quality over quantity, Zelda always told herself.

She didn't want the bullying, but she knew that it would happen again this year. It always had since the day Link Forrester began to tease her in kindergarten.

Then Zelda wondered, where is Link now? She hadn't seen him since fifth grade. He just disappeared all of a sudden. But Midna told her tales of what Link had been doing at school. So, she assumed he had been avoiding her. Since the fifth grade. What if she saw him again this year? What would he do now? What if—

Zelda closed her eyes and silenced her thoughts. She didn't want to think too much before the busy and stressful day ahead of her.

Looking in the mirror, she groaned at her appearance. She hated it, even though Midna and the rest of her family members always said otherwise.

Nevertheless, Zelda thought it was suitable enough for today. After all, it was just _school_. Many things could go wrong today, but they couldn't be that catastrophic.

She exited her room while blankly staring at her feet, watching them lazily carry her over to the kitchen where a breakfast of french toast awaited her.

Zelda quickly signed a thank you to her father, but he didn't see because he was speaking to Mother about something.

The brunette wondered what they were talking about. It could be anything. They could be talking about her, even. But she would never know unless they began to use sign language. That wouldn't happen, though. They only use that around her and her only.

Quickly, Zelda finished her breakfast and grabbed her backpack, stuffing her sketchbook in there and zipping it up. To save herself from embarrassment, Zelda bid goodbyes to her parents as she walked outside. She didn't want them to follow her out there as she boarded the bus.

Luckily, the bus was already out there and she entered it. She had to sit in the front, because that's where the freshmen had to sit. As you got older, your seating placement moved further back into the yellow bus.

Zelda stared down at her hands, noticing that her knuckles were slightly red due to the cold weather. It wasn't extremely cold, but frankly, Zelda wasn't expecting it to be this chilly in August. It was currently 47 degrees Fahrenheit (about 8.3 degrees Celsius), which wasn't that bad compared to the winter weather that was approaching, it was just surprising for August.

The bus parked at the new high school, opening the doors and allowing the students to exit the vehicle. Thankfully, Zelda was in the front and reacted hastily, so she made it off the bus first.

Pacing towards the entrance of the school, she entered the warmer building and let out a sigh of relief when the warm encased her freezing hands and body.

Zelda pulled her schedule out of her pocket, unfolding it and examining the blue paper. She noticed how the paper shook in her hands and cursed her own anxiety. When the bell rang, Zelda made sure to rush to her first period class as quick as possible, in fear of being late. Walking into a class late was always terrible. When she entered, she was the third person to sit down.

Immediately, she pulled out her pencil and math book, since this was a math class. This was a classroom for students like her, with disabilities and other "not normal" things. A teacher who could speak sign language would teach her math and all her other subjects.

Class went by smoothly for Zelda and the others, and not much happened on her first day of school. Lunch had arrived and that was the only thing Zelda was excited for, because she would finally be able to see Midna.

Midna had immediately found her once the bell rang for the first lunch (thank goodness they got the same lunch). They hugged and smiled so broadly, as they hadn't seen each other since last year in middle school.

They had found a nice table to sit at, in the left corner of the large cafeteria, where others barely acknowledged or approached. Some students sat in other tables around them, but it wasn't as crowded as it was in the middle of the lunchroom. That's where _cool_ people sat, but obviously, Zelda and Midna weren't apart of that group.

" _It's so loud in here—it hurts my ears_ ," Midna signed to Zelda, chuckling a bit when she did so.

Zelda grinned slightly and just nodded, not really knowing how to respond properly. She couldn't agree with Midna because she couldn't hear a thing.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a boy with blue eyes and chestnut hair sitting down at the table across from Midna and Zelda.

Zelda watched in awe. She had seen this guy before, but from where? He bore a striking resemblance to somebody she knew once, but no matter how hard she searched for his name, she couldn't find it. Who was he again?

Midna tapped Zelda's shoulder, breaking the girl from her gaze. An embarrassed blush crept its way into Zelda's cheeks, a nervous and innocent smile spreading across her lips.

" _You shouldn't stare at people like that_ ," Midna signed, but was still smiling at her. " _They'll think it's weird_."

" _I know_ ," Zelda signed back. " _I just thought I recognized that person, that's all_."

Midna looked over at the familiar boy and her eyes widened. Her head turned back to face Zelda with the surprised expression still on her face, and Zelda wondered if her friend could recognize the familiar guy.

" _You don't remember?_ " Midna asked, then shook her head. " _I can understand why you don't, though. You haven't seen him since fifth grade. And you probably chose to repress those memories, I mean, I would—_ "

" _Fifth grade? So I knew this dude once?_ " Zelda signed back with a questioning look on her face, glancing back and forth at the boy and then at Midna.

" _That's Link_ ," Midna said finally, not wanting to keep Zelda in confusion and suspense for too long. Midna knew how much it aggravated herself, so she didn't want to do that to her friend.

" _Link?_ " Zelda repeated. " _As in—as in Link Forrester? I remember hating him..._ "

" _Yeah, you did, because he was an asshole_ ," Midna said. " _Don't try to talk to him. He'll just do the same things he did to you in elementary. Assholes never change!_ "

Zelda stared blankly at Midna for a few seconds, before deliberately nodding as some sort of reply to her friend's statement.

Then she remembered a few moments that she had with Link, none of them being positive or making her smile. She remembered all the times he teased her and made their whole class laugh at her, and even the time in third grade when he purposely threw a cup of strawberry yogurt at her and caused the entire cafeteria to laugh at the mess all over her.

She cried a lot because of him. He was the reason she was so...sad and lonely now.

She furrowed her eyebrows and nodded more confidently, even though Midna wasn't paying any attention to her at the moment.

Never again would she let Link ruin her life like that.

But, doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?

Zelda screamed _no_ at the back of her mind. She wouldn't let Link approach her or try to make her life more miserable.

 _Never again._


	6. six

GUIDE | _ITALICS - Zelda_  
 **BOLD - Link**

It was after the school day had ended on a cool Friday evening when it happened.

Zelda had already said goodbye to Midna, and was currently drawing in her sketchbook outside the school. From afar, she could see some of the other freshmen and students older than them playing a variety of sports. In the one baseball field there were a couple of games going on; Zelda assumed they were all just playing four square or kickball.

She wished she could play sports. They looked fun. But, she couldn't. That required hearing, like everything else.

So, she continued to draw, trying to think of what she should add to her small sketch next.

Right as she thought of an idea, she felt somebody sit down next to her. She was laying under a tall and proud green and leafy tree, resting against its trunk.

Who would want to sit next to her, other than Midna?

And Midna had already gone home. Zelda wanted to draw for a while before she went home, so that's why she was the only non-athletic person remaining on the school grounds.

Warily, Zelda lifted her head away from her drawing and met the blue eyes of the last person she wanted to talk to.

 _Link._

Zelda couldn't say anything, so instead she slapped both hands over her drawing and scooted away from Link. She was sitting on the right side of the tree trunk now, her back laying against it.

Link groaned, and stood up. He walked over to her and stood in front of her, kneeling down and looking at her drawing.

Zelda didn't even notice him standing there for a good two minutes, but when she did, she began to stand up and walk away.

She couldn't, though. Link had grabbed her wrist gently, and when Zelda looked back, she could read his eyes very vaguely.

They showed a form of sadness—but why would Link be sad?

The brunette ripped her hand from his grasp and held her drawing close against her chest.

The two continued to stare at each other for awhile, until it became too awkward for the both of them. Once they had locked eyes, everything moved slower and they shared some sort of strange bonding moment just through eye contact.

Zelda knew this wouldn't go anywhere since she couldn't speak, so she sat down and flipped to a new page in her sketchbook. Link knelt down in front of her and observed what she was doing, noting that she had begun writing a note. It was small and didn't contain many words, but Zelda knew it'd get the question across.

Finishing the note, she handed her sketchbook to Link, along with the pencil in her hands so that he could write his own reply.

 _What do you want?_

That's what the paper read.

Link creased his eyebrows as he thought of a suitable reply, because he didn't even know himself why he thought doing this was a good idea. He knew good and well that she hated him.

Link didn't hate her entirely, though. Respect is what he had for her, but lately he had been too nervous to approach her. And he had only just seen her for the first time in four years when school started two weeks ago.

So, he had just observed her, watching her smile and noticing how bright it was. Another notable thing he realized was that she was pretty. Zelda stood out in the crowd—well, at least to Link she did.

Link knew Zelda would never forgive him—he knew good and well what he did to her in the past. And he hated every fiber of his being for that. She didn't deserve neglect and mental torture.

Because now he knew what it felt like to be in her situation.

An _outcast_.

Moving the pencil across the paper, Link wrote out the best reply he could think of and handed the pencil and sketchbook back to the brunette in front of him.

Zelda bit her lip as she gingerly took both items back into her smaller hands, reading his reply.

 **I want to apologize.**

She smirked at the words. Did he really think she'd forgive him? Hopefully not.

She scribbled down her reply and handed the materials back to Link.

When he had them in his hands now, he read her reply carefully.

 _I'm never going to forgive you, so just give up now._

Link looked at her with earnest eyes and then began to write down his next reply with a shaky hand, trying to make his writing look as neat as possible despite his hands jerking as he wrote.

Zelda received the sketchbook and pencil from his hands, reading what he had written.

 **Please. You don't have to forgive me now, but at least let me prove it to you that I am sorry. I need your help.**

 _What do you need my help with?_

 **I can't tell you now. I need to prove to you that I'm sorry first.**

 _Okay, then you do that. I'll give you a month and if you succeed I'll help you with whatever your problem is._

 **Thank you so much.**

Zelda took her sketchbook and pencil back, closing up the book and tightly holding her pencil. She used her free hand to reach for her phone in her pocket to check the time.

While Link looked at the red, orange, and yellow hues that mixed together to create the sky's color, Zelda gasped when she had realized how late it had gotten.

The skies were beginning to turn into those autumn-like colors, but the sun was still shining high and hints of blue could be seen. The sun would set soon.

Zelda didn't want to write down a goodbye, so she just waved a quick one to Link and booked it. Running down the sidewalks and eventually reaching her home, which was much farther away than she initially realized. Taking the bus earlier would have been much easier, but of course she decided to take the hard route just to finish up a sketch. She didn't even finish get to finish it. _All because_ stupid _Link had to interrupt me_ , she thought bitterly.

Meanwhile, Link began to slowly make his way back to his home, and at his slow pace, it made the walk back even longer. He didn't live necessarily close to the school, either, but he was a bit closer to it than Zelda was.

When he entered his home, he was greeted by the squeal of his younger sister, Aryll.

"Quiet down... My head hurts," Link grumbled and Aryll instantly silenced herself, but still wore a cute and perky grin on her face.

Aryll was ten years old, so, five years younger than Link. Link had an earlier birthday than most, so he had already turned fifteen awhile ago, while Zelda and most of the others at school were still fourteen.

"How was school?" Aryll asked, sitting down on the same couch Link was resting on and reaching for the remote.

"It was okay. Nothing spectacular, as usual," Link replied in a bored voice, watching the TV as Aryll began to search for a show to watch.

"Mom said that you're going back to that therapist lady next week, y'know," Aryll said, selecting a random cartoon and then looking over at her older brother.

She knew how much he hated visiting a therapist. Link said she (therapist) never helped, but their parents never listened and insisted this was best for him.

"No, I told them not to send me back," Link complained. "If anything, I've been slightly better since I stopped visiting her."

"Mom and Dad aren't going to listen to you, though," Aryll said, and Link glanced at her to see the sympathy in her eyes. "It's a new lady this time, though. Dad says her name is Telma. Says she's super nice, too."

"Oh..." Link mumbled as a reply. What was he supposed to say? He just hoped that this lady was nicer than the last one. That's all he needed. And for her to care, too. A person that actually cared and didn't run this gig for a paycheck and recognition.

The room fell silent for a moment, before Link spoke up and broke that somewhat awkward silence.

"I talked to someone today—" Link started, but was interrupted by a snicker from Aryll.

"You talked to someone? Wow, Link! You never do that!" she cheered, but instantly stopped when she saw the deadly look in his eyes. She slumped into the couch and blew a breath. "Sorry."

Link nodded. "Anyways, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted... I wanted help from her but—well, we have a _long_ history together," Link explained. "I have to prove to her that I'm sorry."

"What's her name?" Aryll questioned her older brother.

"...A girl named Zelda, who I treated terribly in elementary," Link replied slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"And you're going to make it up to her... _How?_ " Aryll inquired. She hoped her brother hadn't jumped into a deal that he couldn't even succeed in.

Link really hadn't thought about that, frankly. He bit his lip and stared at the ceiling, shrugging after thinking for a few seconds.

"I'll think of something," he replied.


	7. seven

When Zelda had arrived home that day, she immediately ran up to her room and pulled out her phone, going to the message app.

She had to tell Midna about what had just happened.

 **Zelda:** MIDNA

 **Midna:** what

 **Zelda:** ok so u know that link?

 **Midna:** oh yes! I know him. I hate him :)

 **Zelda:** cool same!

 **Zelda:** anyways we communicated through paper and he asked me something

 **Zelda:** "can you help me if I apologize to you"

 **Zelda:** this boi thinks I'm going to forgive him that quickly!

 **Midna:** calm down

 **Midna:** I thought he hated you?

 **Zelda:** guess not ?

 **Midna:** did he write down anything else

 **Zelda:** he said he'd do anything to make it up to me

 **Zelda:** so I said yes, idk why I even did

 **Zelda:** I don't know what he should do tho

 **Midna:** make him become your friend

 **Midna:** yea that'll be his goal. he has to try to earn your friendship, and like a genuine one, don't fake it just to help him

 **Zelda:** lmao why would I

 **Zelda:** I told him he has a month to do this so we'll see what happens

 **Midna:** shdhfhdjsjsj this'll be eventful

Zelda sat down her phone, feeling it buzz against her small hand. She was so tired though, and it was only six o'clock in the evening. Normally, she wouldn't be tired at this point, but Zelda assumed it was just the emotional stress that had weighed her down so much today. Plus, school was getting even more stressful with the work and such.

So, she ignored her phone, grabbing some pajamas to change in to, preparing herself for a comfortable nap. There was no school tomorrow, since it was a weekend, so she could sleep all she wanted without any worry about tomorrow. Maybe she'd sleep so long that she'd awaken on Saturday morning.

 _That would be lovely_ , Zelda thought.

••

Monday had arrived, and Zelda was dreading her return to school. Sure, was happy to be able to see Midna in person again, but otherwise she would have just laid in bed all day. There was nothing to look forward to at school aside from Midna and trying to get good grades.

Oh, and Link. Why Link? He was interesting to Zelda now. She had thought about him a couple of times throughout the weekend, trying to figure out what emotion he held in his eyes when she had locked hers with his. The image of his eyes was so clouded and faded now that she couldn't make out a thing.

But, she wanted to see what would happen today, between her and Link.

She still had to tell him what she had decided this deal would be. Until then, would he actually try to succeed?

Zelda felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw that Midna had texted her again.

 **Midna:** hola there's going to be a new gorl at our school today. bewarb

The brunette sighed as she walked outside and into the cool weather, wearing a fitting outfit for such a temperature and carrying her books under one arm, with her backpack slung over her other shoulder.

 **Zelda:** oh golly gee am I excited!1!1

Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, Zelda boarded the bus and sat down in the very front—her usual seat.

The bus began to drive off in the direction of the school, with Zelda looking around everywhere with a bored facial expression. Looking over her shoulder, she saw people smiling and laughing as they sat in their seats. The more rebellious kids, as Zelda would call them, were trying to jump in their seats or even run down the bus aisles, but they would always look terrified when the bus driver began to talk to them. Zelda assumed the bus driver was scolding them.

Staring ahead once more, and then looking out the window, Zelda watched the trees and cars rush past her view. The whole moment made Zelda feel safe, aside from the stress she was feeling and how much she was overthinking what today would be like.

Then, she felt someone sit down next to her. Once again, nobody bothered to sit with her on the bus. Ever.

Zelda looked to her right and saw that Link was sitting there. She had completely forgotten that he lived in the same neighborhood as her. How did she remember that now, though? All she remembered was seeing him on the bus in kindergarten.

I guess he just never showed himself to me. _Why would he avoid me that much for the few weeks we've ridden this new bus, though?_ Zelda wondered to herself.

Realizing she was staring at him, Zelda forced a smile and looked at her hands, which were sitting in her lap.

Link tapped her shoulder, alerting the brunette and causing her to look at him again. He handed her a slip of paper, which Zelda took slowly, giving him a quizzical look the entire time.

Heaving a sigh, Zelda scanned the words on the piece of paper.

 **Have you decided on the deal we made? Like, what I have to do?**

Zelda nodded and grabbed a pencil out of a pocket in her backpack, and then carefully (and with much trouble due to the bus), scribbled down her answer on the paper.

When she finished, she handed it back to Link.

 _Yep. You're going to have to make me believe you're really sorry by trying to befriend me. If you can do that in a month, I'll help you._

Link stared at it with a confused look, before writing down his short reply.

 **That's it?**

 _Yep._

 **Doesn't seem that hard.**

 _Try me._

Link laughed shortly at Zelda's words, and the brunette girl just rolled her eyes at the boy sitting next to her.

She looked at him again, and he made a motion with his hands. The strange thing was—she recognized what that meant.

He had just signed to her the letter _Z_ in sign language.

Staring confusedly at his hands, Link slapped them on his knees and gave her a look that read, "I give up."

 _Did you try to learn how to say my name in sign language?_ Zelda had written down on the paper.

Link read her words, looking back up at her and nodding happily. He was wearing the happiest smile she had ever seen on his face.

And she was the cause of that smile.

In that moment, Zelda remembered how she admired Link's looks for awhile in fourth grade. He had really changed a lot from then, she noticed. It was quite obvious, but now that she had shared her first laugh with him, she really noticed how good looking he was.

 _Oh no_ , Zelda thought.

She didn't want to think that about him.

But another small part of her wanted this to work out.


	8. eight

Most of the school day for Zelda was spent thinking about anything that came across her mind and barely paying attention to her teacher. She got in trouble a couple of times, but Zelda didn't really mind. This was the first time she was slacking off, so it's not like it would affect her grades too much.

When her English classed was dismissed, it was time for lunch. She hadn't even met the new girl that Midna had been talking about. Probably because only a couple of people were in Zelda's class, the class for people like her.

Zelda also wanted to show Midna the stuff Link had written in her sketchbook, and to tell her about what happened this morning on the bus ride to school.

 _I wonder what she'll say_ , Zelda thought.

Entering the cafeteria, Zelda was shoved aside by a girl with blonde hair. She didn't even know who this girl was, but she seemed quite rude.

Pushing that aside, Zelda made her way over to the table where Midna was sitting.

There was a new face this time, and Zelda immediately recognized who it was just from seeing the back of their head.

Zelda sat down her lunchbox and sat beside Midna, bringing her hands up to begin signing to her.

" _Why is Link here?_ " Zelda signed, hoping that the boy sitting in front of her didn't notice her sketchbook. Her hands slapped over her lap, which is where her sketchbook laid. How would she show Midna everything if Link was going to watch her do so?

" _He said he wanted to hang out with you_ ," Midna signed back, wearing a smirk on her face. Midna really didn't believe that Link would be able to convince Zelda.

Zelda just nodded, looking at Link for a second. As soon as their eyes locked, the brunette felt her cheeks heat up and she tore her eyes from his gaze.

Link just stared at Zelda for a moment, before looking to his right to see a girl with blue hair smiling at the three of them, although, Zelda wasn't looking up.

"Hi," the blue haired girl greeted, cocking her head to the left and cracking a smile, her tall and long side ponytail swaying with her head movements.

Finally, Zelda looked up and her eyes widened in the slightest when she saw the bright, blue haired girl.

"I'm Lana and...well, I'm new here, and I was wondering if I could sit with you guys?" Lana asked, mainly looking at Link when talking.

Zelda just stared at Lana with a perplexed look. She looked over at Midna who was biting her lip nervously, but Zelda could see the emotion's in Midna's eyes—Midna didn't like this Lana girl already.

Moving her eyes to lay on Link, she watched as he spoke a few words and then nodded. Lana eagerly sat down beside Link, digging into her food the moment she had the chance to.

Sighing, Zelda pulled her warmed up pasta out of her lunchbox, blowing on it slightly to cool down the temperature. Grabbing her plastic fork, she began to slowly eat her pasta, stealing glances at Link from time to time. When he wasn't noticing, of course.

Midna noticed how Zelda was looking at him, though. The orange haired girl smirked when she realized what was going on. But, she was also very confused at why it was happening. Zelda hated Link with every fiber of her being, so...why was she eyeing Link like that?

She thought about it for a moment, and decided that Zelda just found Link attractive. Midna couldn't blame her, though. Most of the student body, regardless of gender, found Link to be attractive, and Midna was no exception. She would never fawn over him like Zelda was now, though.

Lana kept talking Link's ear off, telling him all about her old school and her many friends. Midna watched in annoyance, wishing she could just slap duct tape over Lana's mouth. Since Lana didn't know sign language, Midna grabbed Zelda's attention and signed what she thought to her. Zelda chuckled a bit at Midna's words, nodding back in agreement.

Link groaned in annoyance, but Lana didn't seem to care. Right after that, the blue haired girl began to compliment Link's looks.

He had had enough at that point.

"Excuse me, um... Lana... I need to go to the restroom..." Link said slowly and a bit nervously, giving Zelda a look that she couldn't recognize.

Standing up from his chair, Link began to make his way out of the cafeteria. Zelda watched him until he disappeared around the corner.

Her eyes stayed glued to where Link once was, until she felt someone grab her wrist. Zelda furrowed her eyebrows when she realized it was Lana who had grabbed her wrist. Thankfully, Lana let go the moment Zelda looked at her face.

Lana smiled widely and chuckled, looking at Midna while saying incomprehensible words. Zelda didn't know what was going on. Nervously, the brunette girl looked over at her friend, seeing the anger in Midna's eyes as Lana continued to laugh.

Then Zelda put all the pieces together, and figured out that Lana was laughing at her. But why? She hadn't slipped up or done anything stupid. Not this time.

Midna quickly signed some words to Zelda. " _Go find Link. I don't want you to feel embarrassed because of this imbecile_." Midna looked directly at Lana after she had signed the last few words.

Luckily, Lana didn't see Midna speaking sign language to Zelda. She just kept relentlessly teasing Zelda, constantly asking Midna why the brunette girl wasn't responding.

Zelda quickly stood up from her chair, alerting a few nearby students who had heard the squeaking of her chair sliding across the shiny, concrete floors.

And then, she began to walk out of the cafeteria at a moderately quick speed.

Zelda continued to walk and walk and walk, until she bumped into someone just a few feet away from the entrance of the cafeteria.

Link.

Once again, she felt her cheeks burn up when she made eye contact with him. A queasy feeling in her stomach began to commence, as if there were butterflies in there having a rave party.

 _Why am I feeling like this around Link all of a sudden?_ Zelda wondered, shooting her eyes to look directly down at her shoes, as if they were the most interesting thing in the world at the moment.

 _I hate myself for feeling like this!_ she thought angrily. _Gah!_

Link just smiled a bit, tapping Zelda's shoulder and causing the girl to slowly look up. He took a good look at her face, noticing that she was way prettier up close like this. He already knew that Zelda was very pretty, but now he could call her something more than pretty. _Gorgeous_ , that is how he would describe her, but many other words in his vocabulary could also substitute. All in all, who would've thought she would grow up to look so stunning?

Zelda pleaded with her eyes for Link to just do whatever he was going to do. The chestnut haired boy nodded, closing his eyes in thought and pondering of what he was about to do.

He lifted up his hands, hoping that he'd get this right. After researching it thoroughly on the internet, sneaking his phone into class to learn it, he hoped his valiant efforts would pay off.

Link signed the letter _Z_ , grinning a bit when he saw the realization strike Zelda for the second time today.

Then came the letter _E_ , which wasn't so hard to learn. Then came _L_ , then _D_ , and Link couldn't remember how to sign _A_ for a few seconds. But, he eventually remembered it, at least he thought he did, and signed the letter _A_ to Zelda.

The brunette girl had an awe stricken facial expression, her blue eyes wide with wonder and her once rosy cheeks beginning to fade back in to her skin complexion.

For the first time in awhile, Zelda smiled genuinely. She was so used to forcing her smiles, or even when she was happy, forcing it anyway. It felt straining to do that—to smile forcefully. Of course it did. It was against her own will.

But this time, her smile spread across her face on its own. And the straining feeling wasn't there.

 _Why am I overreacting to this?_ Zelda questioned herself mentally, keeping her smile on her face. _No, I'm not._

Link was grinning like a child when he saw Zelda's reaction, which Zelda found oddly endearing. The butterflies in her stomach began to go wild when Link opened his blue eyes again and locked them with hers.

 _No, no! I don't like Link_ , Zelda mentally scolded herself.

Her plan was not going in the direction she had hoped for.

 **A/N: 2018 me here! I regret making lana such a bitch because she's actually such a sweet character but idk how to rewrite this all so. and I absolutely hate dehumanizing canonically nice characters so hhnnnnggg this frustrates me.**

please excuse 8th grade me and her wrongdoings.


	9. nine

When school ended that day, Zelda arrived at her home and put on some more comfortable clothes. Lying around and browsing the internet, purposely avoiding doing her homework; the usual.

Except, she couldn't get Link off of her mind. As cliché as it sounds, he was one of the only people she could think about right now.

Closing her phone, she sat in on top of her stomach and heaved a small sigh, staring at the ceiling. She regretted even letting Link walk back in to her life so easily. Why did she even let him do that? She hated him for what he had done, and he would never be able to repay her.

Zelda didn't want to admit that her hatred for Link was starting to dissipate—very slowly, but it was definitely leaving.

••

"You'll be okay, Link," his mother said in a reassuring voice, looking over at her son and forcing a smile.

Link just nodded as his reply; he didn't want to start a small argument or anything. Because he knew he wouldn't be okay. Seeing a therapist has never helped him.

Aryll was sitting in one of the back seats of their car, pretending to not pay attention to their small conversation. But, she was. And she hoped that Link was wrong this time.

She cared about him too much.

The three exited the car, shutting the doors behind them as they did so. His mother patted Link's shoulder, before leading him and Aryll inside the building.

Opening the door and listening to the small bell above chime, one of the ladies at the counter looked up to see who had entered.

She smiled, but Link could tell it was forced. That's why he didn't want to be here—who knows if this new therapist would actually care? Link knew they never did—they just did it for money.

But who knows?

Link's name was eventually called, and his mother and Aryll gestured for him to go. Heaving a sigh, Link stood up from the chair he had been sitting in, following the woman who had called him.

He heard his mother and Aryll leave the building, meaning they wouldn't return until his session was over.

Entering a small and cozy looking room, Link was told to sit down until his therapist arrived. The door was closed and Link was left alone with his thoughts.

He didn't think dangerously, but he thought of things that worried him. He was worried that this therapist wouldn't be able to help. And then what? Mother would sigh again, saying that it was okay when she was actually upset. She would find a new person to talk to, then. The cycle just repeated like that, and Link didn't want to disappoint his mom again.

The door opened all of a sudden, and a tall, big woman with auburn hair and tawny skin stepped in. Closing the door a bit loudly behind her, she sat down in the remaining empty seat in the room.

"You must be Link, correct?" she questioned, her voice bold and stronger as he suspected, and Link nodded. She held out her hand for him to shake, which he obliged to.

Once the auburn haired lady pulled her hand away, she chuckled and smiled at Link. "My name is Telma and—well, you already know."

"Your parents have given me a bit of information about why you're here, so I won't bother asking anything else unless I need to," Telma explained, pulling out a notepad and a pen.

"All I want you to do for now is tell me what makes those negative emotions diminish, even if the moment is short. What makes you happy?" Telma asked, preparing to write anything down and smiling at Link.

Her smile looked genuine.

"Well...I like video games," Link replied nonchalantly. "Sometimes I draw... and I also like listening to music at times. I can play soccer but I've kinda given up on it since high school started for me."

"And your friends?" the therapist asked, finishing writing down what she needed.

Link was at a loss for words for a couple of seconds. He was trying to think of the people he considered friends, but their weren't many. He used to have lots, but as he got older, they eventually forgot about him in favor of someone they believed was better.

He had a group of people that everyone would address as the squad, so he answered with that first, moving on to individual people next.

"Um...there's this guy named Pipit, he's nice," Link replied. "He's not really my friend, though, uh—we just are kinda—acquaintances? Yeah." _He never talks to me._

"And..." Link stopped there. Would she even consider him a friend? Maybe. Probably not. Definitely not. But, he would have to come up with more answers, or Telma would most likely start piling pointless advice towards him.

"A girl named Midna... I've only known her for a few weeks, though...and another girl I've known since elementary... Zelda," Link replied slowly, making sure to choose his words carefully.

"Oh, so you've known this Zelda person for awhile," Telma noted, writing that down just in case. "So, you've been friends for that long?"

"Um...no, I've just—I just know her from a long time ago...we were never really 'friends' until now," Link answered.

He was seriously doubting every little word that escaped his mouth, because he was just spewing lies. If Zelda was here, she'd be pumping her fists and ready to beat him to a pulp.

Besides, Link hated lying like this. Even if he was always good at it.

There was a small moment of silence, before Telma clasped her hands together and prepared for her next question.

"What do you feel when you're around her? When you're around Zelda?" Telma inquired.

Link froze for a split second, not really knowing what to answer with. What did he really feel when he was around her? He couldn't figure out what it was. Already, he knew he didn't feel empty around her like he did a majority of the time.

When he saw her, his heart soared. Maybe not in a romantic way, but in a way as if he was excited to see her enter the room. When he saw her smile, he got that nervous feeling in his stomach that his friends always told him about.

Happiness. Was that it?

"I feel happy," Link answered slowly, processing his words and feeling as if he was lying again. Shaking his head, he smiled a bit when he realized that he wasn't lying for once.

He actually felt happy around Zelda. Not many people managed to have that spark on him. It was usually only his family members and some of his friends.

Telma smiled, glad that this boy had someone like Zelda to hold on to. He had hope, a lot of it, even. "I advise you stick with her. She sounds like a nice gal."

Link nodded, keeping his smile on his face.

In the blink of an eye, his session was over and he had talked about so many things with Telma.

Most of the time, he talked about Zelda. Telma was always asking him questions about her from time to time; she could tell it made him very happy. She joked around a lot, and Link already liked her bright and fun personality. It really brushed off on him during the session, which helped him feel more calm in this situation, and he even shared a few laughs with her.

Mother and Aryll had arrived shortly after the session ended. When Link got in the car, there was ice cream waiting for him, since his family members had bought ice cream before picking Link up.

As they drove back to their house, with both Aryll and Link eating their ice cream, Link stared out the window.

He didn't know what to think. But, he knew that he wanted to try to become Zelda's friend even more now. He was glad he made the choice to approach Zelda again.

The rest of the car ride was calming and Link was glad to live during a small moment with his family, just like this one.


	10. ten

School rolled around again, and the students who actually enjoyed it and cared for it rose out of bed effortlessly. Others drug themselves out of their beds and homes, but only because they were required to. No one _actually_ wanted to go there.

Link sat with his old buddies today for some reason at lunchtime. He wanted to sit with Zelda and Midna again, but his friends insisted they hang out with him. So, he obliged to their words, sitting down at _their_ table and picking at his food.

Nobody was talking to him, so why was he here again?

Heaving a sigh (he seemed to do that a lot), Link just ate his food in silence, trying to ignore the screaming and shouting that emitted from every direction.

Seconds later, Zelda entered the cafeteria, rushing over to the table she usually sat at with Midna. When she sat down, she flashed a grin at Midna.

She was wondering where Link was.

Midna had suspected this by the brunette's confused facial expression, so she pointed over to the table where Link was sitting. Zelda stared at his back, wondering why he decided to sit there instead of her.

Not that she cared. She should be glad that he's not sitting near her. Link is annoying and mean.

Zelda cursed herself for wishing he was sitting here.

Some good came out of this. Lana decided to sit next to Link, many seats away from where Zelda and Midna were sitting. So, that was a very good thing.

" _Lana is_ really _annoying_ ," Zelda signed to Midna, rolling her eyes.

Midna nodded and signed a quick yes of agreement.

The two girls ate their lunch quietly, not really talking much today. Zelda was constantly debating whether or not she should go over to Link and invite him over. It would be easy, really. She didn't have to sign it out. Easily, she could gesture him over to their table with just hand motions. And even if his friends laughed at her, she could ignore it better than others, because she couldn't hear the noise that Midna says is sickening. Also known as, people laughing directly at you. Zelda didn't want to imagine what that sounded like.

But, the other half of Zelda didn't want to go through with this. After school, she could find Link and hang out with him for a little bit then. She didn't have to converse with him at lunchtime.

The debate in her head lasted too long, longer than she thought. Midna tapped Zelda's shoulder, pointing to the door. Zelda looked over and saw that all the students began to pile out of the room.

Sighing, Zelda grabbed her almost empty tray of food and dumped the excess in the trash can, placing her tray on top of it along with the others.

Walking to her next class, she spotted Lana and Link. Lana was talking to him again, not that Zelda minded. Lana was annoying, but that didn't mean she had no rights to talk to Link. It just _aggravated_ Zelda for a reason she couldn't comprehend.

As Zelda opened her locker, she stole glances at the two talking. Lana was leaning against the wall as Link stood beside her, just nodding as she chatted up a storm. Clearly, he wasn't paying any attention and looked bored out of his mind, but that didn't seem to concern Lana.

Zelda felt pity for Link. Not a feeling she expected to feel towards him.

Placing herself in the situation was easy, and she realized how annoying that would be. She herself had never experienced something like that, but she could tell it wasn't pleasant. Lana's voice was probably squeaky and annoying, anyway.

Zelda assumed the bell had rung once all the students began to scurry to their classes. Grabbing her books, Zelda closed her locker and stole one last glance at the two.

Lana was waving a goodbye to Link, and he watched as the blue haired girl skipped off happily.

Before Zelda and Link could make any eye contact, the brunette quickly turned her head and began to walk at a fast pace to her classroom.

Entering the room, Zelda sat down and was ready for the day to be over already.

••

That time did eventually come. It always does. The middle of the day seems straining, and it feels like you'll never ever escape the school day. Then, your last class arrives and you're free.

Link walked out of the school—well, more like ran. He was trying to hide before Lana could catch up to him.

Lana wasn't a mean person, in some ways, but she was always talking about pointless things that bored Link. He couldn't even bare to listen to her, but he didn't have the heart to ask her to shut her mouth.

So, he hide behind one of the trees, his figure hiding perfectly behind the moderately sized tree trunk. He heard the distant noise of Lana's laugh. She was probably talking to her twin sister, Cia, this time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Link watched as Lana and Cia were picked up by their parents. The car drove off down the road, and Link exhaled in relief once it was out of his sight.

Exposing himself once more, he almost ran into Zelda when he emerged from behind the tree trunk.

Zelda took a step back, almost falling over and onto the ground. She kept herself steady, though. Truthfully, she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts and draw under this tree. Like she always did from time to time after school.

This could be better, though. Just _maybe_.

She had so many questions for Link, but she knew he wouldn't understand. He could barely sign the letter _A_ , which was such a simple letter to sign. _What an idiot_ , Zelda thought to herself.

Luckily, she had her sketchbook. The one she was going to draw in, but it would be okay to use for notes again. Just for this instance.

Sitting down on the almost wilted grass, since fall was coming soon, she pulled out the sketchbook and a spare pencil. Not her sketching pencil.

 _Hello_ , is what Zelda wrote.

They had a small discussion on the piece of sketching paper, and it lead to them exchanging phone numbers for the first time. It was a bold move to ask him for that information, but Link seemed the least bit fazed by it. In fact, he looked almost eager to write it down.

It would be much easier to communicate with him now.

When the skies began to turn an orange color, dumping all over the world, the two stood up and brushed any dirt off their bottoms.

Link pulled out his phone again and texted Zelda something.

 **###-###-####** : what do you want your contact name to be?

Zelda waved goodbye to Link as she pulled her own phone out, beginning to walk in the opposite direction of him.

 **Zelda** : lol just make it zelda and put some dumb emojis or whatever

 **Zelda** : that's what I did for midna

 **Link** : understandable

 **Link** : not using emojis becaus e

 **Zelda** : mmmmk

 **Link** : :)

 **Zelda** : changed your name to hippopotamus goodbye

 **Link** : how nice

They didn't text the rest of the day, and Zelda was pondering over just about anything that came to mind.

She was wondering how Link managed to make her image of him change so quickly and so drastically. He seemed like a charismatic person, although he didn't talk too much. Not even to his good friends. He was always a quiet person. Zelda wondered where that loud and mean boy went, the old Link, I mean.

Zelda bit her lip as she walked down the stairs, entering the dining room and preparing herself for dinner. Mother and Father were there, eagerly awaiting her with steak and assorted vegetables.

The brunette ate as quick as she could, answering whatever questions her parents asked. It was mostly about school and how her social life was going, two things that Zelda was uncomfortable talking about.

When she finished dinner, she rinsed off her plate and put it in the dishwasher, immediately rushing upstairs again.

She grabbed her phone and saw two notifications. One from Midna, and one from Link.

 **Midna** : hello friend! answer me!

 **Link** : hello

Zelda smiled as she responded to both texts, feeling like she was popular, even though these two were the only people not apart of her family that texted her.

Midna and Zelda just chatted about random things, sharing a few laughs in between. But, Link had replied to Zelda in a strange way.

 **Link** : I need to ask you something tomorrow is that ok?

 **Zelda** : ok,,, sure,

He didn't say anything else the rest of the night. Even though that was an okay place to end the conversation, Zelda still felt like she had done something wrong to make it end like that. As the night grew closer, that thought drifted from her mind and she didn't care as much anymore.

She had grown very tired in that amount of time. It was already twelve o'clock in the morning. About an hour before Zelda usually laid down and tried to fall asleep.

She got dressed in her pajamas as quick as she could, turning off the lamp that rested on her left bedside table and closing her eyes.

Zelda had always had trouble with falling asleep. Laying awake and staring at the dimly lit ceiling, tossing and turning and wondering when she would ever fall asleep. It contradicted her problem; she became anxious when she worried about when she would fall asleep. She didn't know if she'd fall asleep too late and then be tired the next morning. It made her anxious for some reason.

But, Zelda fell asleep in half the time span that it usually took her to fall asleep. She was just _that_ sick of everything.


	11. eleven

Zelda had once been sleeping soundly in the comfort of her bed, but now she was back in the place she dreaded most. You can already guess what that place was. The education prison!

She was dreading it even more today, mainly because of the text Link had sent her last night.

What did he want to ask her? It seemed it be an important question to him, and she was worrying over what that question was, exactly. It could be anything. It could range from asking Zelda to help him assassinate someone to just asking for homework advice.

Anything. Zelda laughed briefly at the first idea her stupid mind decided to predict.

As Zelda made her way through the hallways, she looked to her side and spotted Lana, practically gluing herself to Link's side. The brunette groaned quietly in annoyance, reaching her locker and entering its combination.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zelda saw Lana began to walk away from Link. That was the most surprising thing she had seen today. And the bell hadn't even rung yet, since nobody was budging. She just left on her own? Incredible.

Zelda almost jumped when she and Link made eye contact. Avoiding his gaze, an embarrassed blush crept up into her cheeks as she struggled to pay attention. Any time he looked at her, it was like she had been paralyzed. Slightly. Kind of. Only a little bit. But like, not _really_. It was just—what? Zelda groaned quietly to herself and silently cursed this arising feeling.

She had only been interacting with him for three weeks since he approached her at the beginning of the school year. Not even a month had passed. In one week a month would have passed, though.

Link had certainly done an excellent job in persuading Zelda to be his friend again. A little too good.

She was almost convinced at this point. In actuality, she could call off this whole deal right now and help Link with whatever his problem was.

But not entirely. She wasn't convinced entirely, that's for sure.

Zelda began to mentally panic when Link approached her. She felt her heart rate increase once she noticed he was standing right beside her.

Holding her books close to her chest, Zelda let out a shaky and nervous sigh. Link tapped her shoulder, gaining Zelda's attention.

Link held up a small note he had been holding this entire time, allowing Zelda to read it quickly before he put it back in his pocket.

It read, "Let's talk before lunch."

Zelda blinked and just stared at Link's face after he had put the note away. He wanted to talk with her before lunch? This was probably the important question he was going to ask her. Or, it could be something that doesn't even relate to what Zelda was thinking. Maybe she was overthinking this. Whatever he had to say couldn't be too bad, right? Yes, of course.

Blinking once more, she noticed Link's facial expression had changed from somewhat serious to him smiling. Why was he smiling all of a sudden?

Then, Zelda realized that while she had been overthinking his words, she was staring at him the whole time. Her face became warmer than she ever anticipated.

Okay, _maybe_ she was starting to grow on him. A result she was _not_ expecting from this fiasco.

Returning to reality once more, Zelda acknowledged the fact that she and Link had been making eye contact for about two minutes straight, now. She loved his eyes, though she would never admit that to anyone.

Whenever they locked eyes, there was a way different feeling that they both felt. It felt nice and warm—but they would never say that to anyone, especially not each other.

Zelda flashed a small smile at Link, awkwardly patting his shoulder with her free hand and walking away from him. As if on cue, students around her began to walk to their classes, so Zelda hastily made her way to hers.

••

Lunchtime had finally arrived, and Zelda was anxiously awaiting Link's arrival. Midna had passed by her in the hallways, to which Zelda informed her friend that she would catch up with her later at lunch. As expected, Midna looked a little disappointed, but the girl shrugged it off and smiled, walking away and towards the cafeteria.

Leaning against the white walls, Zelda exhaled and looked to and fro for any sign of Link. She decided to wait just outside the doors of the cafeteria, trying her hardest to ignore the perplexed stares she was earning from other students.

Eventually, a familiar face that belonged to only Link showed up. He smiled at Zelda, skipping over to her and leaning his back against the wall, too, now standing beside her. Arms crossed, just like what Zelda was doing right now.

Once all the other students had entered the cafeteria, Link and Zelda scooted away from the doors a bit and looked at each other.

Zelda purposely avoided meeting his eyes directly, only giving him a look that begged him to ask the important question.

Link shuffled around his pockets, looking for something, and he eventually found it after much searching. It was another sticky note, which he began to unfold. Once that was done, he handed it to Zelda, which she gingerly accepted and read the words written across the yellow paper.

 _Can we hang out after school?_ _We could go to the park._

Zelda was a bit taken aback a bit by his proposal. Inhaling and then exhaling sharply, she folded the yellow paper in half and looked earnestly at Link.

He was already preparing for the worst once Zelda handed the note back to him. Link began to regret this decision so much, mentally cursing Telma for convincing him to do this. She said it'd help him, but it was taking a toll on him now.

Zelda then smiled, nodding slowly and filling Link's racing heart with relief.

He put his hands up, carefully signing the words, _thank you_ , to Zelda, which made her smile even more.

Link really loved her smile. She didn't do it often, and he was happy to be the initiator of that smile.

Yeah, she wouldn't forgive him _that_ easily. He knew she was just being nice, probably.

But, Link tried to be hopeful, despite how much he was doubting his decision. He wondered what would've happened right now if he hadn't approached Zelda that day, but what's done is done.

Besides, he still had a week until Zelda would call the deal off.

After they hung out today, what else could he do? Link couldn't constantly ask her to hang out with him. He'd seem clingy.

Link decided he'd try to ask Midna for help.

Because he _really_ believed that he may have a crush on Zelda. Who knew someone like her could captivate him so easily in such a short time span?

All the while, Zelda was pondering if she should do this. It would be quite a bold action for someone as shy and quiet as her. She didn't have the confidence to do what she wanted to do, but another half of her urged her to do it.

How would Link react?

It was now or never. Sure, she'd regret it later and most likely overthink what happened, as per usual, but she was feeling bold for once in her life.

So, Zelda took a step closer to Link, feeling her cheeks warm up and her stomach flipping. He wasn't much taller than her, so she didn't have to prop herself up on her tippy-toes or anything. They were about the same height, probably. Zelda was about an inch taller than Link.

Zelda pecked him on the cheek, and when she was done, she waved a little and ran as if her life depended on it.

Link touched the spot where Zelda's lips once were, his own face turning a light shade of pink at the realization of what had just happened.

He was fazed for a moment, but quickly returned to reality. Zelda was gone.

A genuine smile spread across his face, and he sighed dreamily like a lovesick teenager. Alright, maybe it was a crush. But who knows?

Things were going well so far. First, Zelda agreed to hanging out with him after school. Secondly, she kissed him on the cheek.

Link felt good for once.


	12. twelve

It had been about five minutes since the last bell had rung. Zelda was leaning against the trunk of the tree she and Link had met under quite often, waiting for him to meet up with her this time.

Both Zelda and Link had texted their parents if they could stay with each other after school, and it took a lot of negotiating to allow them to do this. Zelda was surprised that her parents caved and let her do so.

When she had agreed to visiting the park with him after school, Zelda felt incredibly confident about this. Now, she was a nervous wreck. Her stupid head was conjuring up ten thousand different ways this could end, a majority of them being bad endings. Zelda was hoping that none of them came true.

Someone tapped her shoulder, and the brunette looked up from her feet to meet eyes with Link for the third time today. Her heart started beating faster again, which basically guaranteed that she'd mess something up eventually.

Link gestured for her to follow him, and soon they were walking alongside each other and towards the park.

Zelda was assuming they'd be going to the closest park to the school, which happened to be the biggest one in Hyrule and had lots of people in it everyday. She was nervous for this, and judging by Link's facial expression, so was he.

Inside Link's head, he was pondering over how this evening should go. He didn't want to slip up and do something weird or upset Zelda. This evening needed to go almost near perfect. _Needed_. Link needed to get closer to Zelda, so this was beneficial to that.

The two reached the park in about five minutes, both of them looking around at the scenery in awe. It was such a beautiful park, Faron Park, and the scenery never ceased to amaze anyone. Including Link and Zelda, of course.

But then there were people, a lot of them, walking around and smiling. Link could hear kids screaming in joy with their friends or their parents, while Zelda watched idly, wondering what they were doing.

Zelda's eyes lit up when she saw the swing set, and she ran over to them, sitting down in an empty swing. Grinning, she patted the swing next to her.

Link didn't really want to be seen playing on the playground (after all, he was in high school!) but, if this would make Zelda happy, then so be it. Hesitantly, he sat down on the swing and began to catch some momentum. Link just hoped that no one else would see him.

Zelda was already airborne, swinging at a moderately high level and smiling the whole while.

When Link swung in sync with her, he just admired her while she happily swung. He really liked her, and a part of himself wished he didn't. He caused her so much pain years ago. She would never like someone like him.

Shaking the thought from his head, he tried to focus on just Zelda, because she was the only reason he was here right now.

 _Beautiful_ , he thought, and looked away quickly once Zelda glanced his way.

They stopped their swings, exiting the playground and trying to think of other things to do together.

Link suggested they get ice cream, pointing at the quaint little ice cream stand that stood nearby. Clasping her hands together, Zelda nodded in agreement.

After Link had insisted he buy their ice cream, they were now sitting on a random bench and eating their ice cream cones. Link had just gone with plain vanilla, and Zelda got a cherry flavor that had little bits of chocolate in it.

Things were growing a bit awkward for Link, but Zelda didn't seem to mind.

Link didn't know how to properly speak to people who were deaf like her, not that it was a bad thing. He didn't want to keep writing his words on paper, and he barely knew any sign language. Easily, he could just text her, but... What if he learned sign language? It couldn't be too difficult, right? Nah, it definitely would. But then again—

Grabbing his phone and entering the Notes app, he typed in his words and showed them to Zelda.

 _Can you teach me how to speak sign language?_

Zelda's eyes widened as Link pulled the phone away from her eyes. Tilting her head to face him, she nodded.

 _Where do I start?_ Zelda internally thought, placing her index finger on her chin as she thought.

Starting with a simple hello or hi would be good enough for now. Zelda positioned herself so that her body was facing Link now.

Before starting, the two finished off their ice cream and ate the cones. It didn't take too long, actually, and they were already starting.

Zelda laid her hand out, as if she was about to give Link a high five. Link repeated her actions, watching as she placed the tips of her fingers on the side of her head.

Link did the same thing, and Zelda nodded, mentally telling him he was doing a good job.

Extending her hand outwards in a waving fashion, Link followed her actions and finally signed the word hello to Zelda.

She clapped her hands lightly at his accomplishment, watching in amusement as Link continued to sign the word _hello_ , over and over.

Zelda grabbed her phone and typed in the words that told him that he was saying hello in sign language. Link nodded after understanding, still continuing to sign hello a couple of times. Zelda chuckled and typed to him that they were going to learn the word goodbye in sign language now.

Link halted his constant hellos, watching Zelda perform the word goodbye for him.

She laid her hand out in a high five position again, and this time it actually looked like she was trying to give him a high five. Instead, she closed her fingers up, making it look like a fist she was about to punch him with. Link hoped she _wouldn't_ do that. Instead, she unraveled her fingers and waved her hand back and forth.

It seemed simple enough, and once Link tried it out, he realized it actually was fairly simple to say _goodbye_ in sign language. He signed the word goodbye to Zelda, and she clapped once again to reassure him that he was doing wonderful.

One of their phones buzzed against the bench, and Zelda picked up her own phone to see it was the cause of the buzz. Her parents were asking her to return home. Showing Link the text, she frowned once he finished reading it and he frowned himself.

They both stood up and Link offered to walk Zelda home, but she assured him that she would be alright.

Slowly, Zelda lifted her hand up to sign the word goodbye to Link. Then she smiled, and it caused Link's cheeks to burn up.

Why did she have to have this affect on him? And it worked so easily, every time!

He really thought she had a beautiful smile. So many beautiful things about her, and that was just one of them.

Zelda had kissed his cheek earlier, and Link was surprised that she had even done that.

He too wanted to show some sort of affection towards her, but whenever he was about to do it, his anxiety skyrocketed and prevented him from doing anything further.

So, he stood there like an idiot. Zelda signed the word goodbye one more time to try and get Link to return to reality, which he did once she lightly smacked him across the cheek. It didn't hurt at all, it just startled him and brought him back to the real world.

She signed goodbye one more time, which Link finally replied with this time around, signing a goodbye of his own.

The two parted ways after that, and Link regretted not making a move. He would just do what Zelda did earlier at school today, but his anxiety was too much for him to handle.

Rethinking over the whole situation was beginning to make Link lightheaded. He thought about every single part of their departure, trying to figure out everything he had done wrong to make their goodbye so awkward.

Maybe Zelda didn't think it was awkward.

Maybe Zelda thought it was awkward.

?

The mental debate in his head would not end, and looking over the situation turned into feeling on the brink of having an anxiety attack.

He couldn't have one now—not while he was walking home. Who knows what could happen? Maybe he'd pass out. That'd look kind of dumb. Some kid laying down on the sidewalk, definitely not weird.

But luckily, Link got home safely. He breathed in and out in a certain way, which calmed him down a bit. And then, when he managed to get to his bedroom, he closed the door, flopped onto his bed, and sighed into his pillows.

Link hated who he was, sometimes.


	13. thirteen

Link was restless that night. He had only one thing on his mind, and it was Zelda (no surprise there). But, he was more focused on the time he had spent with her today. Feeling like he had done everything wrong, and once again, he was here in his bed; laying awake in the early hours of the morning and finding it hard to catch sleep.

He hated when this happened, but he wasn't surprised when it did. Link just wished that it didn't happen and never told anyone about it. Doing that would probably help him, even if it was just a little, but it was so hard getting your problems out there like that. When you didn't have anyone you trusted that deeply, it was the most difficult thing to harbor.

Eventually, he came to peaceful terms with his restless mind. Analyzing his day was not healthy for him at times, but there was always the moment when he had to accept the fact that what he did that day was done; it couldn't be taken back.

He tried to be hopeful.

 _Today was fine. Zelda smiled a lot around me. That made me happy. Zelda makes me happy._

Thinking of other things and people that made Link happy, he eventually drifted off into a short slumber, one that quickly ended when his alarm clock rang at five thirty in the morning.

His will to get out of bed was at a low this morning, unsurprisingly. Aryll would occasionally storm into his room and attempt to drag him out of bed, which worked well. He was hoping that would happen, because otherwise, he'd be fine with staying glued to the comfort of his bed. He would probably just stay there, anyway.

Soon enough, he heard someone running up the stairs and towards the door of his bedroom. Whoever was there didn't bother to knock or anything, and instead barged in.

It was indeed Aryll, who slapped Link's forehead. That woke him up, and he jolted upright from his sleeping position and creased his eyebrows at his younger sister.

"You didn't have to slap me," he groaned, rubbing his sore forehead.

"How else would you have gotten out of bed?" Aryll teased, then sighed. "Breakfast is ready, anyways. Get dressed and stuff before you come downstairs."

Aryll made her way out of his room, stopping at the door to say one more thing. "You're visiting Telma again after school, by the way."

Link raised an eyebrow as he climbed out of his bed. "I thought I was seeing her this weekend. On Saturday."

"I guess the schedule has been changed," Aryll said with a shrug, skipping away from his door and bounding back down the stairs.

Link got dressed and freshened up, making sure he didn't look like a zombie that day at school. Fast forward to breakfast, where he ate a small plate of pancakes and grabbed his backpack afterwards.

Link found himself at school now, going through the same _boring_ doors and walking down the same _boring_ hallways, expecting another _boring_ day ahead of him.

 _Boring, boring, boring_ _! But what else is there to expect from this place?_

He spotted Zelda entering the school, but the bell rang all of a sudden. Had he really been _that_ late?

Algebra went by so slowly, that Link felt all of his brain cells slowly dying as the teacher carried on and on about some sort of mathematical method, one he and most of his peers did not understand. Which is why they were given a lecture on how they must strive for better grades, and that they were irresponsible for not getting good grades. _Good grades, good grades, don't fail, success, keep dreaming, children._

Everyone was falling asleep in class, and Link was on the verge of it. Their teacher never bothered to wake anyone up, and everyone already asleep was awakened by the bell.

As Link exited his classroom, he internally groaned.

 _So much for boosting our confidence_ , he thought with slight anger. _How does our teacher think putting us down will make us want to do better? It just makes me want to give up even more._

Before the bell could ring again, Link rushed over to Zelda and signed the word _hello_ to her.

Midna was standing beside her this time around, giving Link a strange look that he couldn't decipher.

Things went by quickly, and the bell had rung again. How fast was this day going? Link stopped himself there. He didn't want to have an existential crisis right now.

As Zelda and the others scurried off to class, Link included, Midna grabbed him by the hood of his hoodie and he let out a choked sound.

Turning him around, Midna placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

"Do you like Zelda?" she asked.

Silence.

Link's face flushed and he slowly shook his head. Great, now he was feeling like that again. The moment he pictured Zelda in his mind, he felt all tingly inside. His heart thumped a little quicker than usual, and his stomach flipped constantly. Weird.

"No. An—Anyways, shouldn't we be heading to class?" Link said with a nervous laugh; it was obvious he wanted to ditch this conversation, but Midna grabbed him by the hoodie again.

"Don't lie to me. It's obvious you have some sort of crush on her," Midna informed, and her smile dropped all of a sudden. " _Why?_ "

"Why? I don't know. I can't control my feelings, Midna," Link answered simply, rolling his eyes unnervingly.

" _No_ ," Midna said in a bitter tone. "Why did you come back to her all of a sudden? I thought you hated her."

"I..." Link felt his words get clogged up in his throat. This always happened when he really wanted to say something, but he thought—no, he _knew_ he couldn't say it. Midna would criticize him!

He couldn't tell her the real reason why he needed Zelda's help. It was—it seemed pathetic to him.

"I just needed someone's help," he decided to answer with, thinking it was his best way to answer the question.

"Uh-huh. You could've asked anyone else," Midna stated, waving her hand around to gesture to the student body.

"Well—I choose to talk to Zelda, okay? I wanted to apologize to her, too... It'll help me."

"Why can't you tell me what's wrong?" Midna asked earnestly.

Link didn't want to talk to Midna anymore.

"Stop asking me," Link snapped, mentally cursing himself for making that come out so rude.

He walked off, entering his next class on the verge of tears, for some reason.

 _Don't cry, loser,_ he thought _._

••

Link hadn't spoken to Zelda all day, not even through text.

School had ended, and everyone was exiting he building. Either in groups or just with one friend by their side, Link was jealous, wanting a friendship like that.

He didn't deserve it, even if anyone would tell him otherwise. Link could never believe it.

As Link was making his way towards the sidewalk that lead to his home, he heard someone skip up behind him. Glancing to his side, he saw Zelda walking alongside him and wearing a small smile on her face.

Midna had told Zelda what happened between her and Link today, so Zelda made it her priority to cheer Link up.

But then she thought, _why am I doing this?_ _I'm_ _supposed to_ hate _Link, not enjoy being around him. I'm not supposed to help him_ _!_

The deal didn't matter anymore to Zelda; she just wanted to help Link. Because she was slowly figuring out the puzzle that was Link. Zelda knew that once she started something, especially something logical and difficult like this, she just couldn't back down.

She would help him.

Zelda halted her footsteps, which caused Link to stop in his tracks as well. He looked at her, giving off a facial expression that asked what she was doing.

It was a bold move, but Zelda held out her hand to him. Link stared at it quizzically, wondering what she was trying to get him to do. Her hand gesture didn't make any sense to him.

Zelda emphasized her hand, trying to get the point across. _Come on_ , her mind chanted. _It's so obvious what I'm doing!_

Wait, wait, wait—did she want him to hold her hand?

That couldn't be true. Absolutely not!

Hesitantly, Link lifted the hand opposite to jets up and silently hoped that his assumption was right. Link placed his hand in hers, watching in awe as Zelda slowly intertwined their fingers.

It was a tender moment, and Link didn't feel too anxious about it for once. It felt calming and soft, as if the goddesses were wrapping a cozy blanket around his weary heart.

Zelda squeezed his hand tighter, looking straight into his azure eyes and smiling the warmest smile he had ever seen her show.

 _A smile like the sun._


	14. fourteen

Zelda wasn't at school today.

Link didn't know why, but he was concerned the entire day. He wouldn't say he was _worried_ about her, but of course, he was a little concerned.

Lunchtime arrived, and Link rushed over to the table where Zelda and Midna usually sat to avoid his other friends. Could he even call them friends? They barely talked to him anymore. Link didn't want to bother asking—too much work.

Slamming his lunch tray down, he pulled out a chair and sat down in front of Midna, who was just staring at Link with wide eyes the entire time.

"Hello... Why are you sitting here?" Midna questioned, swallowing the food in her mouth.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Link grumbled, then sighed and shook his head. "Never mind that. I need your help."

"With what? I thought Zelda was helping you—"

"This is a different problem. One that involves Zelda," Link cut her off.

Midna was silent for a few seconds. Finally exhaling, she gave into his words and shrugged. "Sure, I guess. What do you need my help with?"

"I need to get closer to Zelda," Link answered, which made Midna smirk and chuckle a bit, for some reason.

"Aren't you close enough with her? She usually talks about you when you're not around," Midna informed him, leaving Link at a loss of words once he heard that.

Zelda talked about him? He didn't think she actually enjoyed being in his presence. Always, he always assumed she was only doing this out of pity. Once the end of the month arrived, she would laugh it off and tell him the truth, " _I never liked being around you, anyway_ ," and she would disappear and never speak to him again. Ohhh god. That couldn't happen.

Anyways, Zelda had talked about him, with Midna—Midna who hates Link. And by Midna's statement, she did it quite frequently. But why?

"Well...I just want to make sure that—that this deal works," Link added. "I want to be her friend."

"You've already convinced her. I don't see why you want to go any further with this," Midna chastised. "But, if you don't think it's enough, I'll lend you a hand."

Link beamed at her answer. "Thank you, Midna. Now I just have to plan out what I'll do for her."

"You're acting like you're gonna propose to her!" Midna exclaimed, although nobody was paying attention to their conversation to overhear her bold statement. Pink dusted across Link's cheeks at Midna's words, and he tried to ignore the nervous feeling that was arising in him again.

"Do you have _any_ ideas?" Midna inquired, taking a sip of the water she had.

"Nah... That's another thing I need your help with," Link told her, and his cheeks returned to their normal shade, his nervous antics calming down at last.

"Okay. Well, Zelda's birthday is actually next week," Midna informed with an all-knowing grin, and Link's ears perked up at what she said.

"Really? That's perfect, then! I'll just have to give her something amazing," Link cheered, mostly to himself.

Midna smiled at his excitement, pondering over what Zelda would actually want for her birthday. She knew the girl very well, better then anyone else, most likely. But she couldn't think of any suitable gift that Zelda would enjoy receiving. And Zelda was the type of person to fake excitement over a gift she didn't want, so they would never really be able to tell that she liked it or not. But, if she showed her genuine happiness, which Midna had seen a few times before and observed, then this would work. Zelda would be incredibly happy, and it would definitely brush off on Link and make him happy. They'd both be happy.

 _They act like they're a couple already..._ Midna thought to herself, imagining them holding hands. It looked a bit odd to her, but it also looked like it was meant to be. _Gah, I can't ship people in the real world._

"We have a week to think about this. I'll try asking her about things she likes and I'll tell you, but maybe you should talk to her as well," Midna said. "But don't make it too obvious that you're getting her a gift."

"I'll try my best," Link said with a confident nod.

"Don't let her down, please," Midna muttered, just as the bell rung, signaling the end of their lunchtime.

••

 _What does Zelda even like?_ Link thought to himself as he made his way out of the school. She never really spoke about her interests that much, so he wouldn't know unless he asked her. And if he did that, she'd probably catch on in time.

Leaning against the tree he and Zelda usually spoke under, he exhaled sharply. Just as he began to wonder why Zelda wasn't at school today (and frankly today was less exciting for Link), he got a text from her.

Opening the message app, he read her text, which read:

Zelda: lol sorry I wasn't at school today. i felt kinda under the weather, but I'm fine

Link: ok cool. I was kinda concerned

Zelda: understandable

Zelda: can I tell you something

That's the text that made Link grow anxious. _Gah, why do I have to get so nervous over the simplest things? She's not going to say anything bad. But what if she does_ _—_

Zelda: I really like video games right? I've never told you but there it is

Zelda: there's a new console and game being released soon

Link: oh when?

Zelda: I think it's October 3rd?

Zelda: wait yes it is

Zelda: October 3rd

Link: how much is the console? and the game

Zelda: a lot lol... I could never afford it now

Today was September twenty-sixth, so there was about a week away until the console and the video game were released. Link knew good and well that video game consoles were expensive, plus the game, made it more expensive. How would he turn up with the right amount of money in just a week?

Link: hey when's your birthday? Midna told me it was next week but not which day

Zelda: o

Zelda: October 7th, it's a saturday

Zelda: I'm not having any party

Zelda: pretty sure nobody would come.

Link: o

Link: well happy early birthday? I'll still wish you a happy birthday on the 11th

Zelda: how nice :) :) :)

Link heard a beeping noise, and he saw his parents car pulling into the parking lot of the school. Why were they picking him up? They were usually at work at this time, so he'd have to walk home himself and watch Aryll until they came back.

Nonetheless, Link texted Zelda that he had to go, and turned off his phone. Running towards his mother's car, he opened the front door to see his mother sitting there and Aryll in the back, both wearing smiles on their faces.

"Hey," Link greeted them a bit awkwardly, throwing his backpack onto the floor of the car and sitting in the passengers seat. He closed the car door.

"Why're you picking us up, mom?" Link asked.

"I didn't have work today, remember?" Mother said in an obvious voice, while Aryll jokingly teased Link for forgetting.

"Oh, okay," Link replied, wondering why she didn't have work. Maybe she called in sick, or she just had a free day for some reason. The former would be the most logical, considering that Link's mother worked at a government hospital.

As they began to drive home, Link thought about the video game console that Zelda wanted.

"Mom? Do you have a couple hundred of dollars that I could borrow?" Link asked nonchalantly already knowing his mother would say no. But, it was a way of getting her interested in this.

" _Excuse me_? I'm not handing over hundreds of dollars for no reason," Mother scoffed. "What do you even need it for?"

"There's this video game console that I want to get for my friend. And a video game," Link simply answered.

"Oh, which friend? I didn't know any of your friends liked video games. They were all into sports and such," Mother said.

"It's a girl and—" Link was cut off.

"It's Zelda! I know it!" Aryll chanted. "You like her! I _know_ it!"

 _I feared this_ , Link thought, feeling his cheeks burn up as he got his voice ready to yell at his younger sister.

"I do _not_!" he yelled back, but Aryll wouldn't believe his lies.

Mother had that all knowing grin on her face, because she knew Link was lying. His ears always turned a light shade of red when he lied.

"You've never talked about Zelda, why're you getting this all for her?" Mother questioned.

"Her birthday is next Saturday."

"Oh," Mother drawled out, biting her lip as she thought. "Your dad and I will talk about it, but you'd going to have to earn all that cash. We're not handing it over to you for free."

Link nodded, and then the conversation ended there. Even Aryll kept her mouth shut about Link's infatuation with Zelda.

He wondered what Zelda's reaction would be if he had gotten that new console and game for her.

Midna could also help, since she was Zelda's best friend.

This _could_ work.


	15. fifteen

That night, Link decided to look up what console and video game Zelda was talking about. It didn't take long for him to find it, because it seemed to be quite popular.

The console was named the _Swirl_ , with the video game being named _Air of the Wild_. Just from looking at the box art for the game, Link could tell that it looked pretty fun, even if he didn't play video games that much. The box art was colorful and vibrant, with a hero wielding a sword posing on the front and the open wilds around him. It was understandable why Zelda wanted it so badly.

But it was expensive, which Link was expecting. Video games and consoles never ran at a cheap price, unless you were looking for an old console that absolutely nobody cared for anymore.

The console was about one thousand rupees, with the actual video game being about two hundred. The game wasn't too bad of a price, but saving up money for the Swirl would be a pain; and he only had a week to buy it.

Thinking for a moment, an idea suddenly came across Link's mind. It was an obvious idea, but he jumped out of his swivel chair and began to dig around his room for any rupees. Every single rupee would count towards this.

He began to think _—why am I doing this? I don't have to buy the console for her. I can get her something much cheaper for her birthday._

 _The result of it all would be worth it, though_ , he thought finally.

After rummaging around his entire room for about two hours, Link managed to salvage only one hundred and fifty rupees. He had almost enough for the video game, but nowhere near enough for the _Swirl_. Buying both would mean the cost would lead to being one thousand and two hundred rupees. Which was a _lot_.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Link shoved all his rupees in one of the wallets he had, hiding it in a secretive place. Aryll might try to steal his money for whatever reason, and he couldn't let that happen now. Other instances would be tolerable—but, yeah, not now.

Exiting his room, he trudged down the steps and made his way to the kitchen on the first floor, where his father was cooking dinner. Link was trying to guess what he was cooking tonight, but honestly couldn't even take an educated guess with his mind this frazzled.

"Hey," Link greeted, beginning to think of the right words to use in this conversation. He couldn't let this go wrong. All the right words must be used to convince his parents.

"Hello. You're down quite early; you're usually hiding in your room before we call you down to eat dinner," spoke his father, slicing up the lettuce that sat on the cutting board. "Tonight, we're having tacos!"

Link forced a grin. "Ah, well thank you for telling me. I wanted to ask you something else though—"

"Is it about buying that video game for the girl you like, Zelda? Was that her name?" Father questioned, and Link flushed at his words. He pretended like he didn't notice the obvious stinging of his cheeks.

"I don't like Zelda in _that_ way. But, yes, that's what I'm here to talk to you about," Link stuttered, trying to ignore his father's comment.

"We are not handing over that much money, ya hear me?" Father scolded, sitting down the sharp knife on the counter, the one he was previously using to chop up the lettuce. Scary.

"That's not what I'm asking! Just—just listen to me for a second," Link said, feeling his temper rising with each second. This annoyed him—when his parents didn't even give him a chance to say what he wanted to. They just went ahead and assumed his next words, and that irked Link to no end.

"I'll do anything do get that amount of money. Just—just whatever you want me to do, tell me. I'll do it, and in return I get the money I need," Link pleaded, clasping his hands together in a prayer motion.

"Link, we've already said no. You'll have to come up with the money some other way," Father said. "Go get a part-time job or something—"

"I won't be able to get so much money working a job like that—and in a _week_!" Link protested. "Please, dad. I really want to make Zelda happy."

Father closed his eyes and sighed in deep thought, thinking his son's words over multiple times before reopening his eyes. "I will speak with your mother about it."

Just as Link's eyes lit up, Father raised his hand up to silence the boy.

"That isn't a yes. Consider it a possibility, instead," Father said, returning to chopping up the lettuce on the cutting board.

Link nodded and nonchalantly made his way back upstairs, but jumped for joy once he reached his bedroom. He was so excited, even though he wasn't the one getting the console. Maybe Zelda could invite Link over one day, and they could play the _Swirl_ together! Ah, but one could dream, and Link favored that.

••

The next day arrived, and a majority of the ninth graders were preparing for a day of track. Zelda usually didn't participate in gym class, but she was finally given the opportunity to do so today. So, she took it, and now she'd be running on the tracks with other students. It was a big step for her, and Zelda had faith in herself.

" _You nervous?_ " Midna signed to Zelda, as the girl was tying a ponytail in her brown locks.

" _Oh, I think I'll be alright_ ," Zelda signed back once finishing her ponytail. She stood up from the small bench that stood in the girl's locker room, brushing imaginary dirt off of her shirt, which bestowed the proud emblem of Hyrule High—the Triforce, _of course_. It was a unique symbol, compared to other schools across the country.

" _You've only participated in track once, though_ ," Midna signed back with a hopeless expression, but Zelda felt optimistic for once in her life. " _You sure you'll be alright?_ " Midna pried once more.

" _I already told you, Midna—I think I'll be okay_ ," Zelda signed back, beginning to exit the girl's locker room, with Midna tagging along close behind. She heard Midna sigh from behind her, but chose to ignore that and the hopelessness it held.

Zelda tried remembering what her teacher had told her. Her teacher told Zelda what would happen during track today: the referee would blow the whistle, but of course, Zelda wouldn't notice. As the referee blew the whistle, they would also wave a checkered flag to signal anyone who didn't hear. Also known as Zelda. Zelda wondered if the checkered flag was used every time, or if this time was only an exception because of her.

Breathing in and out, she found comfort in her own body once more as she stepped out onto the track field. She saw many other girls in her grade all stretching in random areas of the field, all in small groups, chatting away as usual. Most of the guys in the ninth grade were there too, but Zelda was mostly looking around for Link, as much as she hated to admit it.

At this point, Zelda was starting to believe that the bubbling feeling in her stomach could confirm her feelings for Link. Perhaps she had a crush on him, but that's all it was—merely a crush. She smiled to herself, knowing that this silly infatuation would disappear gradually. That's how all silly high school crushes turned out, anyway. Well, there were a few exceptions, but Zelda knew she was not _that_ lucky.

Zelda had found Link, and she felt all nervous when she thought about talking to him. Why was having a silly crush on someone so difficult? Couldn't it just be like any other bond with someone else?

Link had spotted Zelda as well, feeling the nervous feeling in his stomach bubble up.

He was standing out in the field, all alone. His friends had basically ditched him at this point, and really, he only had Zelda. And maybe Midna, but Link was never too sure if Midna actually appreciated him or not. Maybe she did? He didn't want to second guess himself.

The referee blew the whistle and Link's eardrums feeling like they shattered into a million pieces at the screeching noise. Turning in the direction of the noise, he saw the referee calling out names. As he did so, students bestowing those names ran up to the actual track and stood in their respective lanes.

While Link stared, he heard his name get called, which chilled him to the bone. Sure, he was pretty athletic. Many people had said he was fantastic at sports, or just anything that involved running. He would definitely ace this—but, the fact that he was running with other students who were probably at a higher athletic level than him scared him.

Sighing, he hesitantly listened to the referee and slowly made his way to the track.

Zelda noticed and ran as close as she could get to the track, without the referee waving at her to move back. She wanted to watch Link and Midna watched from afar with her.

Everyone began to run, while Zelda glued her eyes on Link the entire time. She wouldn't call this stalking or anything, no. Observing would be a better word. It's not like she had anything else to do, and she didn't know anyone else running out there aside from Link.

He noticed that she was watching, which made him feel self conscious. What if he fell right in front of her? That'd be embarrassing.

Then, Link began to look around everywhere else. A certain fear planted itself in his stomach, slowly growing from its placement in the ground into some terrible and prickly plant. The watchful eyes of the students watching and the incredulous stares of others on the track bore into his skin, burning holes in his flesh. Maybe not physically, but mentally, it hurt, and Link suddenly felt lightheaded.

Next thing he knew, the lightheadedness found a way to get to him. He tripped on his own feet, falling to the ground with a thud. The concrete below him grazed his arm and he winced. Link looked up and watched the other people on the track continue to jog at a steady pace, far, far away from him.

The referee didn't blow the whistle though, apparently too focused on the others running. He didn't even bother to acknowledge that Link had fallen over... This was so awesome. Link stood up and winced at a new pain in his arm. It was a pretty bad cut. Very large. Link cursed his own stupidity and wished he could've just ran along like anyone else did.

 _Idiot. They didn't even notice you. Probably because you fell over for the stupidest reason..._

Zelda came running over to Link with worried eyes, grabbing his hand as gently as she could and ushering him to follow her. His negative thoughts finally silenced themselves the moment she came in contact with him.

The impact of hitting his head on the ground must've been worse than Link thought, because the next thing he knew, blackness encased his vision.

The brunette holding his hand began to panic, dragging his limp body over to the nurse's office—wherever it was, Zelda was determined to find it.


	16. sixteen

"Wake up, Link..."

Just as he heard the words, Link's eyes opened and he sat up abruptly, feeling a pain in his leg and on his arm. He had almost completely forgotten what happened. How did he get to the nurse's office? All he remembered doing before now was falling. There were voices, too, but everything after that was a blur.

"You're fine, by the way," Midna said, examining the place on his leg where a bandage was wrapped securely around the cut, and the bandage on his arm. "Just a little accident, is all."

Link bit his lip and nodded at Midna, finally noticing that Zelda was sitting beside the orange haired teen. Currently, she was gazing at her hands, not really showing any emotion on the parts of her face that Link could see.

Midna nudged her best friend, causing the brunette to jerk her head up. Glancing at Midna for a moment, she looked the other way to see Link, awake and well.

A smile overtook Zelda's face—she was acting as if he just got stabbed multiple times and somehow survived. Midna could easily see this, but it flew over Link's head.

Link flipped his legs over the bed and stared at the bandage on his leg, while Zelda continued to look at him.

" _I was the one who took you here_ ," Zelda signed, while Midna translated her words from behind. Link nodded and mentally thanked her—hopefully she knew that he was thankful.

"The coach didn't see you at first," Midna said with a roll of her eyes. "Fucking pathetic. Imagine being that absorbed in some stupid track thing."

Zelda nodded. " _From what I saw_ ," she signed, " _he was talking to another teacher, and then became distracted by that and everyone else. Didn't get a chance to see you_." Midna translated these words when Zelda finished, of course.

She looked back up and away from her hands, accidentally making eye contact with Link. Zelda gasped a little when he sort of grinned lopsidedly at her, and failed to suppress a smile of her own. She waved a little for some reason and Link found it oddly endearing.

Midna laughed, standing up from the blue chair she sat in and walking towards the door. "I'm just gonna, y'know, tell the nurse that you're well and be on my way—bye!" she said in a rushed voice, quickly leaving.

As the door slammed shut, Zelda blinked and shook her head, looking at the ceiling instead of at Link.

Link stood up without any problems, feeling the cut on his leg sting for a second, but he was fine. Zelda grabbed his hand again on instinct, worried that he would fall or something. But he was fine and Link appreciated Zelda's support.

Things had already become awkward enough between them, and Zelda thought letting go would make it worse. She didn't know what to do now, but she followed what would make her happiest—holding his hand, of course. It was a simple gesture, but it made her smile on the inside.

They walked out of the nurse's office, with Link pretending to struggle as Zelda held his hand gently. People would assume they were a couple if he walked normally, so that's the plan he went with.

It wasn't a terrible feeling, though—holding Zelda's hand, I mean.

Hand in hand, they made their way back to the track field, where the coach waved to the two and approached them.

"I'm sorry I missed yer fall," he said. Very weird, annoying accent. Link wanted to punch him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Link said casually, forcing a grin on his face and letting go of Zelda's hand, much to both of their disappointment.

The coach discussed that Link would not be participating in the track section of their physical education this year and would be placed in the school's health class temporarily until it ended. Link solemnly accepted this fact. He was glad he didn't have any physical education for a good two weeks.

After that, school had ended, and Zelda walked beside Link as they made their way to the exit of Hyrule High.

Link waved to her, and then, feeling like that wasn't enough, he pecked the middle of her forehead with his lips. Zelda flushed at the feeling and nervously met his eyes when he pulled away. Shakily, she raised her hand up and poked the middle of Link's forehead with her index finger, a laugh escaping her lips.

She would've said something snarky, but Zelda knew he wouldn't understand her. So, she smiled cheekily and opted to leave their goodbye at that. Zelda began to skip away, but not without a final wave.

Then, Link remembered the console and video game. He could definitely do a lot of chores tonight; he'd have to see if his parents would even allow that to happen, though.

Zelda couldn't believe how lovey-dovey they were acting. It was almost as if they were a real couple—

 _Gah! Zelda, don't think that!_ her thoughts screamed.

Before Zelda could get too far, she stopped and turned her heel, rushing over to Link again. Zelda ran up behind Link and hugged him from behind when she was near him. This immediately stopped Link in his footsteps, a delightful feeling in his stomach brewing so suddenly.

They stayed like that, with Zelda pressing her forehead against his back. She didn't want to be creepy, but she liked the way he smelled. Everyone has a different smell, and once you smell that scent, you think of that person. Link smelled of wood and pines and comfort and home—Zelda wanted to bask in it forever.

Zelda wanted to say thank you, but she knew Link would not understand her signs and she couldn't even speak the damned words. She sighed and thought about how to express her feelings.

Why did she want to thank him, though?

Link made her happy. In such a short time, he had grown on her. It was unbelievable to Zelda—that she could end up liking the person she once despised. People really do change, after all.

Zelds couldn't dwell on the past forever. She had never been good at letting the bad things go. Almost always, she held onto her mistakes and problems.

This day and moment, she decided, was when she would turn that fact around.

So, as she let go of Link, her regrets and hatred—anything negative that she felt towards him— it dissipated. Link looked over his shoulder at her, his face flushed and almost laughable, but Zelda suppressed her laughs.

Link wasn't smiling for a second, but that quickly changed. He flashed one more small grin at her, waving his hand and beginning to walk home this time.

 _So bold. I can't believe a coward like me did that!_ Zelda thought.

She was happy, finally saying goodbye to her hatred and regrets. Today, she wouldn't let things weigh her down that much. Sure, she had a rough past. Full of neglect and unkind actions, things that had mentally scarred her. It's not like all of those memories disappeared forever, no. She still hung on to them, but she wouldn't let them affect her in the present anymore.

With joy in her heart, Zelda returned to her house, entering with the smile having already left her lips. Mother and Father greeted her merrily, informing her what would be served for dinner and such.

As soon as her parents let her off the hook, Zelda immediately retreated to her room, closing the door gently behind her.

 _Oh, screw the stupid deal we made months ago... I think I'm falling in love with_ _..._ Zelda stopped her thoughts there, jumping onto her bed and staring at the ceiling longingly.

Had she really fallen in love with someone like _Link_? She had despised him for a good portion of her life, so why had she become this weak and let her heart be taken by him?

 _No, I'm not weak_ _!_ she reminded herself, returning to reality once her parents called her down for dinner. _Nor do I love Link. It's just a crush, that's all._ _I shouldn't think so irrationally._

Making her way downstairs and into the kitchen, her mind traveled over to her birthday, wondering what she would get. Or, if she would even get anything.

Maybe everyone would just forget it altogether.

 _Stop it. I can't think negatively anymore. I'm better now_ , she reassured herself, a smile taking over her face at the thought.


	17. seventeen

A week had passed since that day, and Link had managed to save up just enough rupees for the _Swirl_ and the new video game for Zelda.

All week he had done laborious jobs around the house for his parents and babysat three kids (Malo, Talo, and Beth, who were quite annoying). He also volunteered to help small businesses in Hyrule, such as bakeries and the like. Link was surprised that he managed to scrap up that many rupees in just _seven days_.

He was bursting with excitement as he stood in line, just outside of Hyrule's electronics shop. Apparently, a lot of others were very excited for this as much as Zelda was. Link was probably the least knowledgeable on video games out of everyone standing here this late, not that he cared. He was only excited to give this to Zelda.

Granted, he did like video games. But he had stopped playing them at a sudden point in his life. He really wanted to get back in to them, and maybe this could be his opportunity to do so. Or maybe not.

Link checked the time—11:00 PM. Everyone who was standing outside in the chilly weather began to huddle inside the store upon their granted permission. Everyone was in groups and talking to their friends, while Link stood there awkwardly, holding his seal for the _Swirl—_ a confirmation that he would be able to get one before they sold out.

Time passed quicker than Link expected. Touring the store was a fun experience; seeing the figurines, books, and just about anything related to _Air of the Wild's_ franchise was incredible. It all costed so much money, though, and Link only had a sufficient amount for just the game and the _Swirl_.

Moments later, Link was leaving the store at midnight exact, with the _Swirl_ and a single copy of the video game in a plastic bag. A rush of excitement swam through Link as he stepped back out into the cold night, seeing his parents car waiting just in front of him; he was thankful that they arrived here in time.

Link was taken home, staring at the box that held the _Swirl_ and only thinking about what Zelda's reaction would be.

••

Just after school ended, Link hurried to his locker to grab the wrapped up console and video game. Nobody bothered to ask what the gift was, which Link took as a blessing, since he wasn't the best at socializing, period.

Hustling out of the school with the gifts in his arms, he passed by Midna. Before he went any further, he decided to chat with her for a second.

"Hey," he greeted her, gesturing to the obviously large gift.

Midna's red eyes observed the package carefully. "Uh-huh. Hello. What the hell is that?" she asked.

Link couldn't help but smile. "It's Zelda's birthday gift. What'd you get her?"

"Oh. I got her an art book for that air game she wants. I don't understand video games like she does, but the book is pretty cool. I think she'll like the art in it," Midna explained, an all knowing grin covering her face once she realized what Link's gift may be. "And I'm assuming that's the console and the game?"

"Mhm," Link said, nodding briskly.

Midna whistled a little and then chuckled. "You went all out!"

Link nodded sheepishly. "Yeah..." His eyes widened. "I—I have to go give it to Zelda—"

"Then what're you waiting for?" Midna teased. "Don't waste your time talking to me."

Link blinked once, then nodded. "Alright. Wish me luck."

"You'll be fine," Midna replied sarcastically, watching as Link sped down the hallways and towards the entrance of the school.

She too was wondering what Zelda's reaction would be, although she could guess it'd be a positive one. If she was the one gifting Zelda with that console and video game, she could expect excitement and thankfulness from Zelda. But with Link? Who knows.

As he was running towards the tree they usually met under, Link pulled out his phone and quickly typed a text to Zelda, asking her to meet him underneath this tree.

Anxiously waiting, Link soon saw her figure emerge from the school, wearing a confused facial expression as she approached him.

Zelda: what's up why am I here ?

Link looked at his phone, typing a text back.

Link: close ur eyes

Zelda: haha why

Link: just do it

Zelda: ! ! !

Zelda: aight aight I'm closing them

She did as she typed, closing her eyelids slowly and putting her phone back into her pocket.

 _Don't get too nervous_ , Link repeated to himself over and over, but his anxiety never seemed to calm itself when really needed.

His brain began to conjure up a million different outcomes of this situation, most of them being bad. This happened a lot. _But it's okay! She'll definitely like it—she won't say anything mean—she'll be happy to receive it from me—and—_

Before he could overthink this any further, he handed Zelda the large, wrapped up gift box.

Opening her eyes, Zelda curiously examined the box, running her hands over it until her eyes widened and she sucked in a breath. She looked like she had been shot or something as she carefully ripped the wrapping paper of the gift off.

The moment she saw the _Swirl's_ logo and a peek of the game's case, she screamed and covered her mouth. Her cheeks covered with red in embarrassment, but she was too focused on her excitement for worry about that.

As she took all the wrapping paper off, Link noticed she had tears in her eyes. Tears! He didn't know one could get so emotional over a console and a video game.

Then again, Midna did say she had been waiting for it for three years. That's a really long time to wait for this kind of thing, but she was patient. Link understood her excitement now.

Zelda was full on crying now, holding the _Swirl's_ box and the video game close to her chest, holding them like they were her children.

Link couldn't contain his smile once again, just gazing at her and what she was doing. She looked the happiest he had ever seen her in his entire life. And it was because of _him_.

After crying for about thirty seconds, Zelda looked up at Link and bit her lip, but mustered a smile behind all her tears. They were joyous tears, of course, but it was still hard to smile.

She mouthed a thank you to him, just like she had done the other day. Sitting the _Swirl_ and _Air of the Wild_ on the ground (making sure nobody would see it and steal it), she came closer to Link.

Before Link could even have a second thought of doubt, Zelda's arms were securely around his waist and she had buried her head into the crook of his neck.

Link stood there frozen for a moment, inhaling her sweet scent. She was _hugging_ him again. It was understandable why she was doing it now, compared to last time, but still— _wow_. Zelda was hugging him, and Link was crazy and breathless.

Awkwardly, Link wrapped his arms around her shoulders and unintentionally brought her closer. Their bodies melded together perfectly and neither minded, really.

Link could feel Zelda smile against his skin, tingling it and sending shivers down his spine. He sucked in a breath and broke into a grin himself.

A few more pieces fell into place, then.


	18. eighteen

Over one year had passed since the day Zelda received the _Swirl_ and _Air of the Wild_ from Link. The day she _could've_ kissed him, but was pushed away violently by her own fears. Fears of what? She didn't even know, but she didn't want to focus on the past. Didn't she already make that resolution last year when she was a freshman?

Zelda was also glad that she had cut off that stupid deal she and Link made over a year ago. It was foolhardy to her, and she didn't want it to continue. Besides, Link had already won her over, so there was no point to the deal's existence anymore.

Now she was a sophomore in high school, being in the tenth grade. Midna, Link, and anyone else she remembered from last year still attended this school. Including some people she didn't like that much, specifically, Lana and Groose.

 _They're both bullies, and they're both very annoying. They'd be perfect together!_ Zelda thought mischievously to herself, spotting the blue haired devil the moment she thought of her. Zelda snickered quietly.

Lana never spoke to Zelda, and that's only because she didn't know how to. This was something Zelda was incredibly grateful for, because both Midna and Link always told her about how annoying Lana's voice sounded. ("It's kinda screechy and—wow, it's just terrible, Zelda!")

It had been a week since New Years Day, and everyone was back in school. New Years Day wasn't very exciting for Zelda, once again. Did people usually do things on that day? Because she never had. She was used to just staying at home with her parents and not even caring to watch the all drop in Central Hyrule Square, wearing pajamas and probably reading something stupid.

Midna had already texted Zelda beforehand that she would not be coming to school today, as she had come down with a terrible cold. After wishing Midna to get well soon, Zelda pulled out her _Swirl_ and began to play it during lunchtime. She had nothing better to do, aside from eating, anyway.

Some of her peers stared at her, but she didn't see them. She was too focused on playing the game. _Splatoon 2_. She had played the original Splatoon when it was brand new and she held a lot of memories with it. You can imagine her excitement when the sequel was announced and then released.

While she was playing the game, someone sat down in front of her. Whoever it was must've been big, because Zelda felt the table shake underneath her elbows propped up on the table. She finally looked away from the screen and saw Groose sitting there. Not someone she expected, but at the same time, this wasn't a surprise.

What surprised her is that he signed the words, " _Hello, Zelda! How are you today?_ " perfectly in sign language.

 _I thought he didn't know sign language?_ _!_ _But_ _,_ _who am I to assume that, I_ _guess_ _he does_ , Zelda thought, returning her eyes to the _Swirl's_ screen after rolling them.

Groose was utterly shocked—how did that not win her over? Or at least get her to talk to him?

 _?_

He waved in front of her face, making Zelda groan in annoyance and look away from the screen in her hands.

" _I'm trying to talk to you, you know_ ," he signed to her.

Zelda sighed and sat the _Swirl_ down. " _I know. I'm trying to_ ignore _you_ ," she signed.

" _Hey! I learned sign language just for you!_ " he signed with a shocked facial expression, and his words made Zelda think for a second, but that didn't last long.

" _I am_ not _obligated to like you!_ " she furiously signed back, immediately returning to her game. There was fire in her eyes as she played the game.

" _Please talk to me_ ," Groose signed again, looking as if he was about to burst into tears.

 _This guy! What a crybaby! A loser! A fucking fool_ _!_ Zelda thought, shaking her head and grabbing the Swirl, along with her lunchbox. Her eyes started scanning the room for any open table she could flee to.

 _Why, oh why_ _Midna, why did today have to be a day you're not here? And where the_ _hell_ _is Link?!_ Zelda thought angrily to herself, finding no empty tables to sit at.

Glancing to her left side, she spotted Link sitting beside Lana.

 _Of course_ , Zelda thought bitterly, approaching the table where Link sat.

 _Ooh, what if Link likes Lana all of a sudden?_ Zelda thought immaturely, and even mentally laughing at how childish she sounded. So jealous. _Nah, nah. He definitely doesn't look pleased today._ And he didn't. He looked about as dead as he usually did.

Link spotted Zelda out of the corner of his eye, his face lighting up when they made eye contact, but instantly dimming when he heard Lana gasp dramatically beside him.

"Zelda's back?!" Lana exclaimed, and Link shot her an angry look.

"What? Don't look at me like that," Lana complained. "She can't even hear me."

"Don't use that to your advantage," Link snapped quietly, but Lana barely heard him over all the commotion in the cafeteria.

Lana began to shoo Zelda away from their table, and Link grabbed his lunch tray and began to follow Zelda.

The blue haired girl was shocked. "Hey! Linkkk! Get back here!"

Link didn't answer.

Zelda felt a headache coming on the more her stupid little brain decided to overanalyze Lana and Link's relationship.

The two sat back at their normal lunch table, with Zelda glad that Groose had miraculously disappeared.

Thinking about Groose again made her insides twist up, and not in the good way. Not in the way she felt around Link, no. It felt more painful and uneasy.

Zelda stood up and sat next to Link instead of in front of him, showing him the _Swirl_ and the game she was playing.

His eyes lit up at the console, which he took from Zelda's hands after noticing her gesture towards him. Link had no idea how to control the game, so Zelda helped him every step of the way.

Lana looked over her shoulder to see Link so close to Zelda, which caused jealousy to boil up in her veins. She let out a small shriek, startling anyone who was sitting at her table.

"Lana, who're you mad at?" Cia, her older twin sister asked.

"Zelda! That stupid, stupid girl in our grade," Lana complained. "She's getting all _lovey-dovey_ with Link over there," she mocked

Cia looked over her shoulder to spot out the two lovebirds, indeed smiling with each other while Zelda taught Link how to play _Splatoon 2_.

Though, Cia didn't really want to get tangled up in this mess. Besides, if Link did have a thing for Zelda, there was nothing Lana could do about it. Cia knew that well, but Lana acted so immature compared to her, that _she_ didn't.

Lana stared at Cia in disbelief once she got no response from her. "Cia! You're not gonna say anything?"

"How am I supposed to reply to that?" Cia snapped back. "I don't particularly care about your 'love' problems. If Link likes her, then let him be!"

"Why would he like her, of all people? I've heard rumors that Link used to bully her. Bully her!" Lana yelled. "Why would she even like him after that?"

"People change and so do feelings," a quieter member at their table, Sheik, said. "Zelda seems more mature than you, Lana. Maybe she has moved on," they suggested.

"I sure wouldn't!" Lana spat. If someone bullied me relentlessly in the past, I'd hate them forever!" She let out a huffed breath and crossed both arms over her chest.

"But you're _Lana_ , not Zelda," Sheik retorted. "That's how you'd perceive it. Zelda's different, so obviously... You know." They rolled their eyes, not even bothering to finish their sentence.

Lana's mouth gaped open at their words, which quickly turned into a facial expression full of anger.

"I can't stand you guys!" Lana exclaimed, grabbing her lunch tray and beginning to walk to another table. "I'll find someone who _really_ understands me!"

Sheik looked over at Cia, rolling their eyes again before returning to eating their lunch. Cia grinned to herself, knowing now that Sheik was a good person behind all of their quietness.

Lana stomped over to find another table, when she noticed a freakishly large red pompadour poking out from behind someone else's head. It quickly caught her attention, and she stormed over there to see Groose crying.

"Hey, pompadour dude! Why're you crying?" Lana questioned the weeping man, sitting her lunch tray down and sitting in the chair just in front of Groose.

"Oh!" Groose exclaimed, surprised to see another human sitting in front of him. "No reason..."

"Who cries for no reason?" Lana asked.

"Emo's, but I swear—I'm not emo," Groose said, sighing and lifting his hands away from his face, revealing his red, puffy eyes. "I guess—I guess I'll tell you."

Lana listened intently.

"I've been in love with Zelda Harkinian ever since I first laid eyes on her in middle school. She has yet to notice me until last year, and I completely failed at wooing her then!" Groose explained, choking up on his sadness. "But...the world is so unfair, _dammit_! She's always hanging out with that Link guy! I can't believe I ever called him my friend. Not anymore, after he _STOLE_ _—"_

"Hey, hey! Calm down, idiot!" Lana shushed him, holding her hand out and lowering it once Groose shut his mouth. "I think we can help each other." A mischievous grin coiled into her lips.

Groose's eyes lit up. "He—help? As in—"

"Yes! I like Link, and you like Zelda, right?" Lana asked, to which Groose nodded as his answer. He was starting to catch on, at last.

"Well, if we work together, we can separate them. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy for doing this, but you don't, right?" Lana questioned again, and Groose just nodded once more.

"Then—then let's do that!" Groose cheered happily. "Wait, so, what's your name?"

"Lana," she answered. "And you?"

"Groose!" he exclaimed happily. "And what's our plan?"

Lana grinned mischievously once more, already coming up with a foolproof plan to make Link hers and for Zelda to be Groose's.


	19. nineteen

The next week at school, Midna had finally returned from her long absence. As expected, Zelda frantically asked her what was wrong, freaking out over what had happened to Midna that caused her to stay home for almost an entire week. Turns out, Midna just had the flu and laid in bed all day, watching her favorite TV shows and eating junk food, with the occasional complaints of how she suffered during that time as well.

After going over that subject, Zelda began to tell Midna all about the week she had been gone. She told her about Groose and his sudden ability to speak sign language, Link suddenly sitting with Lana that one day, and her bubbling hatred for Lana.

" _Sounds like Groose likes you_ _!_ " Midna signed, grinning smugly and causing her best friend's entire body go pale.

" _No! No! This is a nightmare! I can't have that pompadour like me!_ " Zelda signed back, covering her face with her hands and choosing not to speak anymore.

Midna just chuckled heartily at her best friend's reaction. She didn't even know if Groose did like her, but Midna was a good observer. She had always seen Groose eyeing Zelda, or speaking rather loudly to his buddies about his undying love for her. It was kind of obvious and Midna wondered how Zelda never caught on. Typical.

Seconds later, the school bell rung, and Midna snapped Zelda back into reality. Zelda seemed the least bit fazed, but the evident fear of Groose loving her was still in her eyes.

" _Class_ ," Midna simply signed, waving goodbye to Zelda before running off towards her own classroom.

Watching everyone pile into their classes made Zelda wish she could be like them. She didn't mind the "special-ed" classes she had to attend, but it would be cool to see what a normal high school classroom was like. It was probably fun, minus the mental pain of sitting through the class and learning pointless material. Even in her own class, Zelda knew she wasn't learning many things that would benefit her in her adult life. Yes, knowing how a mushroom consumed food would get her far in _life. No it fucking won't; unless I become a mushroom scientist...but that's probably not even a thing!_ she thought.

During her class, she sat in the back of the room, and everyone in her class was here today. Not a single absence. That was rare.

Slowly but surely, class passed by quickly for her and she was now eating lunch again. As she awaited Midna, she began to think.

Her life was just a constant replay of the same day, but different things occurred in that day. Aside from that, she walked down the same hallways, entered the same rooms, rounded the same corners, and sat in this very lunchroom everyday, consuming the cafeteria's sad excuse of food and occasionally her packed lunch. She was absolutely positive that school was just a mind controlling prison for the youth. No exceptions.

Midna finally arrived, and the two girls shared only small talk during this lunch period. Neither of them had much to say, and whenever this did happen, neither minded. It was always a comfortable silence they sat through and Zelda was thankful it was that of all things it could be.

Zelda began to wonder where Link was at today. It only took her precisely sixteen seconds to spot him out, sitting with Lana once again, much to her bemusement.

" _Lana is really annoying!_ " Zelda angrily signed to Midna, to which the orange haired girl just nodded in agreement.

" _I agree_ ," Midna signed back. " _Has she been hanging out with Link a lot more than usual?_ "

" _Yeah, and._ _.. I_ _don't know why it annoys me so much. I do like him_ _, yes,_ _but I shouldn't let jealousy consume me_ _like this_ ," Zelda signed again, putting her hands down and extending her neck at the slightest to get a better glimpse at the two.

 _It's not like he looks comfortable there_ , she thought, mostly to reassure herself. _He looks like he wants to leave. Yeah, I'll just go with that._

Zelda didn't want to bother confronting the two this time, so she just let them be.

That was her biggest mistake of all, though, because "Big Red Pompadour Guy" plopped down in the chair right beside Zelda, wearing a huge grin on his face.

Midna placed her fingertips on her forehead and widened her eyes, giving Zelda a look that was screaming, "Seriously? This dude?"

Zelda didn't want to even talk about it; Midna already knew what had happened last week.

" _Good afternoon!_ " Groose signed to Zelda.

The brunette mustered the most polite smile she had, propping her elbow up on the lunch table and quickly waving to Groose. She sat her hand down and stared at the ceiling, hoping he'd go away. _Please Hylia, have mercy on me today._

While it was true that she and Midna could just take their things and leave, there was one problem with that—Groose would most likely just keep following them until the two girls gave up. At least, that's exactly what both Midna and Zelda pictured happening.

So, since Zelda was too nice to hurt someone's feelings (despite how much she disliked Groose), she reluctantly began to converse with him about ridiculous things. They mostly talked about Groose's favorite burgers, a topic Zelda didn't care about at all. Behind her faked and happy eyes, Midna could see the suffering laid behind that protective shield of joy.

Meanwhile, Link was sitting with Lana, as aforementioned. She was ranting about incoherent things, words that Link had zoned out on and wasn't even paying attention to anymore. He knew good and well that once Lana caught him not listening, she'd get angry for no reason, but whatever.

Beside Link sat Cia, who wished she could help Link without making her bratty sister go nuts. It was unbearable to watch whatever was going on with Lana and Link.

"Lana, I don't think Link's listening—" Cia started, but was cut off when Lana jumped out of her seat, wearing a silly grin.

"I'll be right back!" she cheered, beginning to skip away from the lunch table.

"Lana! Where're you going?" Cia called out, her voice dying down once she saw Lana enter the women's restroom in the hallways just outside of the cafeteria.

Cia placed her hand on Link's shoulder and narrowed her eyes at him, which frightened him at first.

"Now's your chance to escape," she whispered, and the moment Link processed her words into his brain, he grabbed his lunch tray and moved to a random table.

He was going to go sit with Zelda, but something was preventing him from doing so. That "something" was Groose.

Zelda was talking with Groose while Link stared, both oblivious to his presence. Not that he minded. A strange feeling entered his mind, causing him to just look away and continue to eat his food.

 _Hopefully Lana doesn't see me over here_ , he mentally prayed to Hylia.

Thinking of the image of Zelda and Groose talking made him feel—well, Link didn't want to call it this, but, he felt _jealous_. Groose had learned sign language and was now fluent in it, apparently. Something Link hadn't dedicated as much time to doing. He knew exactly why Groose even bothered to learn sign language, and that was because of Zelda. Since middle school, Link had always seen Groose daydreaming almost all the time. Link did eventually ask what he was daydreaming about, to which Groose just replied, "a girl."

"Which girl?" Link had asked, raising one eyebrow in confusion at his red haired friend.

"Oh, you wouldn't care," Groose had said with a dreamy sigh. "You don't like her, anyways."

It took Link awhile to figure out who Groose was talking about, and once eighth grade started, he realized he was talking about Zelda.

Link didn't care, he didn't even like her anyway.

Gradually, his friends began to distance themselves from Link, causing the boy to go crazy. Constantly overthinking the real reason why they were doing this to him—were they bored of him all of a sudden? Did they hate him? Were they faking their friendships with him this entire time? Such thoughts brought about even more bad thoughts, thus worsening into the person he was today.

He hated that, getting so paranoid over every little action he makes, every single word that escapes his lips—anything he did, it made him feel terrible.

And that is the very reason why he even approached Zelda in the first place, that one day in their freshmen years of high school.

He wanted to find someone who legitimately cared about his wellbeing. There was never anybody Link could trust with this problem of his. He feared telling someone, because they may brush it off as nothing. Everyone had left him, or ignored his existence, thus leading to the mindset that everyone faked their kindness towards him. Such a manipulative thing to do to someone, but that's the only thing his brain could think of his past friends. He remembered Zelda one day, and thought it would be alright to talk with her after so many years. Even if she might've hated him.

Link didn't want to take that day for granted, for he had fallen head over heels for this girl, despite his hatred for her in the past.

Still, he hadn't felt any better. Why? He would always wonder that over and over—he was positive that Zelda would be able to help him overcome this silly phenomenon.

Then again, why would anybody be proud of something like this? It only chained him down as a person, and who wants to befriend someone who isn't even comfortable in their own body?

Nobody, apparently. Link was accepting of that fact, he wouldn't want to be friends with himself either. That didn't change his will to try and turn his life around.

He was just stuck, that's all. Hopefully, he would escape soon.

Watching Zelda converse with that red haired idiot made Link feel like he was losing her already.

 _I'm overreacting, that's all. That's all_ , he tried to reassure himself, looking to his side and spotting Lana racing over to him, blue hair bouncing around her with every step she took.

Glancing at Zelda again, he realized just how much this girl meant to him.

She was the last thing he could lose.


	20. twenty

Underneath that quiet and hard exterior of his, nobody knew that Link had a way with words... sort of. Something in the back of his head always forced him to not outwardly say these desperate words, though, no matter how badly he wanted to get them out there. It wasn't necessary, to put it simply.

With his whimsical words, he had written a few poems and excerpts in his life. They were all intricately written, expressing everything he felt in such confusing yet understandable ways. But, with how much he despised everything his hands created, he tore those papers apart, leaving them to be shredded up and dumped somewhere in Hyrule, where no one would ever find his works.

He missed writing like that, and he wanted to do it again. It was for no particular reason, but he felt very stressed from today. Link knew good and well that he was just overthinking the situation—things would be fine the next day. It was hard to explain, but when his mind was clouded with one thought, he couldn't think properly. And then he overreacted, just like he did today.

It was as if he had developed the mindset that whatever the worst outcome he could think of would be the only one to actually occur. Even when one half of his heart debated against that fact, saying that everything would most likely turn out fine in the end, the other half of his heart that was asleep always managed to deceive his mind and make him think negatively.

And, during moments like these, writing would help him calm down. So, he did just that.

Clicking the end of a pen, he rested his wrist on top of a lined piece of paper. Before writing, he tried to think about why he was even doing this. There would have to be a specific reason why he would write and vent all his feelings down onto paper, but he couldn't figure out the right feeling he felt.

There was jealousy, because he envied Groose. He had learned sign language so quickly and spoke it so fluently, so of course Zelda would fawn over his dedication to her. Then again, she could've been just casually talking to him, but Link couldn't help but think otherwise. But, learning sign language was something Link didn't even think twice about attempting to do. Granted, he did learn a few gestures and words in the language, but never did he fluently speak it.

There was anger, not only targeted at Groose, but himself and the world that caved in around him. The world that broke down his protective walls and damaged him, as a poetic way to say it.

There was not lust, _goddesses no_. Link was perfectly fine with Zelda being in a romantic relationship with someone else. Another part of him didn't even want to imagine that, though, because unfortunately, love was a confusing thing and he had fallen hard on the subject.

He felt _hopeless_. That would be an alright way to describe it. While it may be true that he was overthinking the situation, he couldn't control his feelings well, and thus he felt worthless in the end.

It was hard to describe, but he felt like he didn't deserve love. Why should someone such as himself deserve the wonderful feeling of love? He had always heard throughout his life that love was the most powerful emotion you could ever experience, but that stereotype had already worn off of him. Link knew that love wasn't the most powerful emotion. There was a different emotion that took that prize, although he didn't know what it was, exactly. Not yet.

 _Because I believe in love_ _._

That's what he scribbled down on the paper. Which was the truth; love was a real thing, something he got to see everyday of his life. Whether it be his parents spending time together or other couples at school gazing lovingly at each other, or even seeing families and siblings laughing with each other, love was definitely not a misconception of human emotion. Link felt love; love for his entire family, the things he had been blessed with, and the romantic part of his love, Zelda. Love didn't have to be romantic, any type of love counted. Love was _real_ and Link craved it.

 _I hope I can show you what I mean_ _._

 _Who am I directing this towards, exactly? It could be anyone_ , he thought. Anyone he felt some sort of passionate connection to could read this and wonder if it was them or not. Link decided to think that it was directed at the person he loved in a romantic way.

 _I don't believe love's for me_ _._

That is the sentence that captured this empty and annoying feeling he felt right now. He dreamed of true love and knew that it was very real in this world of theirs, but he didn't deserve it. Not at all.

 _So won't you come around and prove me wrong_ _._

Link stopped writing after this, realizing that he was basically writing some sort of cryptic message about how he loved Zelda, but felt like he didn't deserve to have her return that feeling to him. It was like a letter to her, begging her to simply just—well, prove him wrong about these thoughts.

Even before this incident, Link had always felt like this. Unworthy of the love he experienced all around him, every single day.

For once, he actually liked this work of his. So, he folded up the piece of paper he had been writing on, and shoved it into his desk drawer. Just as the drawer shut, Aryll hollered to Link from downstairs that dinner was ready.

 _Perfect timing_ , Link thought, grabbing his phone and earbuds before proceeding to exit his bedroom.

After he finished dinner, Link asked his parents if he could run to the dollar store for just a bit. They didn't agree at first, as always, but with a little bit of negotiating, they both gave in and let Link go.

As he made his way towards the front door of their house, Aryll came jumping up behind him with sparkling eyes and a grin on her face.

"I'm coming with!" she cheered, and Mother gasped at the statement.

"Aryll, Link isn't old enough to supervise you in public," she scolded. "Who knows what could happen?"

"Link's sixteen! He can _drive_ now! Why can't I go along with him?" Aryll cried. "I'm gonna bring my own money and get something for myself, is all. I'll bring you back some weird contraption I find there!"

"Aryll, no is no—" Father said, but Link cleared his throat quite loudly to interrupt the conversation.

"I promise I'll keep a good eye on her," Link said. "Like a hawk." He acted as if he was scanning the horizon, hand hovering above his eyes and the side of it pressed to his forehead

"That's weird," Aryll commented, but instantly began to smile again. "Oh, so you _don't_ trust Link? That's a little mean..."

Aryll was good at negotiating until she got what she desired. Mother let out a slightly annoyed sigh, placing a dirty dish in the dishwasher. "Alright, fine. You both better be home before ten o'clock, got it?"

Link and Aryll saluted to their mother. "Yes, _ma'am_!"

Soon, they were at the dollar store, and Link remembered to stay by Aryll's side at all costs, no matter how many times she begged to look around the place by herself. ("I promise I can handle myself!") ("I said— _no_.")

"There's nothing here but food and other crap," Aryll complained, staring at her singular red rupee. "I thought this place would be interesting!"

"You can just get a candy bar or something with that. You can get a couple candy bars, actually," Link suggested.

"Why did you even wanna come here?" Aryll questioned, looking up at her older brother with a questioning face.

In truth, Link only wanted to come here— _alone_ _—_ to let himself be with his thoughts. That wasn't the best thing he could do, but it helped him feel better. Sometimes.

"I just—I wanted some candy as well," Link lied, and Aryll stuck out her tongue.

"Who said I was buying candy?" she teased, looking to her right and spotting a girl about Link's age with brunette hair. Aryll gasped at her beauty.

"Isn't that girl pretty?" Aryll cooed, but Link slapped his hand over her mouth to silence her incredulous words.

"You can't shout like that in a public place!" Link whisper shouted, looking over at the girl and feeling his heart stop when he realized it was Zelda.

 _Uh oh._

He remembered the poem, the one that was mainly about her, and felt his cheeks turn a deep red color. _Exceptional timing, Zelda. Right after I literally poured my heart out on paper—and it was all about you._

"Ooh, is that the Zelda lady you're friends with?" Aryll asked, then waggling her eyebrows. "Or should I say... she's your GIRLFR—"

"That is enough!" Link stammered, his heart rate beginning to return to normal, but the heat in his face remaining.

He prayed that Zelda wouldn't notice him, but she did, which was both a good and a bad thing for him. The good thing was that he'd be able to talk to Zelda without Groose budging in. The bad thing was that Link felt too...the feeling was indescribable, but it made him not want to talk to Zelda at the moment.

As she approached the two, she smiled once she was close enough.

Link waved awkwardly to her, while Aryll just mischievously grinned the entire time they stared at each other. Aryll did begin to wonder why neither of them were speaking with each other.

"Link?" Aryll whispered and Link just patted her tuffs of blonde hair. "Talk to her."

"She can't hear," Link mumbled, while Zelda had occupied herself with a strange contraption she found.

"Can't _hear_?" Aryll repeated, making a prolonged 'oh' sound once she got the hint. "She's deaf."

Link just nodded, pulling out his phone. "I'm going to text her."

"Gee, this must be really hard for you guys. I mean, you can't even talk to her," Aryll commented, just staring at Zelda. "But, I think you guys will prevail. I can see you guys getting married someday! That'd be cool! Zelda could be my sister-in-law—"

"Please _stop_ ," Link mumbled, his embarrassment returning and his face turning a shade of red, once again. Even the tips of his Hylian ears had turned red, he was so embarrassed. Zelda couldn't even hear what nonsense Aryll was spouting, but it was nonetheless still embarrassing.

"You're just saying that because you're too scared to admit it!" Aryll squealed, and Link shushed her.

"Admit what?" he retorted, finally texting a quick hello to Zelda.

"That you love her! I know it! You made it too obvious last year that you had a crush on this girl," Aryll said. "And now, a simple crush has blossomed into an undying love..."

"You're so immature," Link grumbled, grabbing his sister's hand. The moment he did that, Zelda finally looked his way again and gasped at his face. It was still incredibly red, but she had no idea he was blushing.

Zelda just smiled cutely at him, oblivious to how nervous she was making Link. Chuckling at his stunned face, she looked down at her phone at the text he had sent her.

Link: henlo

She grinned, seeing a new text pop up underneath it.

Link: gotta blast

Zelda looked up and he was gone.

Confusion entered her brain, leaving her to stare aimlessly down the aisle full of candy. Why did he suddenly leave for no reason? She did notice that he looked nervous or anxious or—or something. Maybe he had a fever? That wouldn't make sense, though. He was fine earlier.

She felt like she had done something wrong to make him leave. But, deciding to go down the positive route, she shrugged off the situation and grabbed the candy bar of her choice, before making her way to the register to pay for it.

Once she left the dollar store, she whipped out her phone again and quickly texted her reply, making her way to her car.

Zelda: why

Link: what

Zelda: you left

Link: yea I had to go home

Zelda: ok...

Zelda: what was your sister talking bout btw?

Link: The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start.

Zelda: fuck you


	21. Twenty-One

"Wha—What did you say?" Groose asked nervously, grabbing pieces of his red hair and pulling them outwardly in anxiousness.

Lana just smirked. "We're going to ask Link and Zelda—if they want to go out! Like, on a date. Like, you ask Zelda, I ask Link—"

Groose suddenly shrieked like a small child, covering his face with both of his giant hands. "I don't have the courage to ask that!"

"C'mon! It's not that hard!" Lana tried to reassure the burly man, but nothing seemed to be working at all. She bit her lip, trying to think of another way to get him to do this.

"You know, if you don't ask Zelda soon, someone else is going to ask her out eventually..." Lana said. "And I think you know who that specific someone is."

Groose's head finally perked up, his eyes widened and his hands slapping the lunch table they were both sitting at. "Good point. Alright, I'll go ask her now—but only if you ask Link!"

"That's what I was planning to do, bastard!" Lana exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and trying to spot out Link.

Fortunately for her, she found him within seconds, just entering the cafeteria, about three minutes late. With an overly-joyful smile on her face, she skipped over to him and caught his attention. He looked quite disappointed the moment he laid his eyes on her, but that easily flew straight over Lana's head.

"Hi," she greeted him normally at first, clearing her throat and sucking in her breath. "I was wondering...do you want to hang out with me later today? Like, at the park or something."

Link looked taken aback by her sudden question, biting his lip and sneakily looking over Lana's shoulder. Not to his surprise, he saw Groose pestering Zelda again, who actually looked fearful this time compared to yesterday. So, she didn't like him, right? Right?

Silencing his thoughts before they progressed, Link returned to the real world. He didn't want to make Lana feel too disappointed, despite the fact that he disliked her, so he sympathetically smiled at her and said his reply.

"No thanks. I'm kind of busy after school anyway—" he began, but Lana excitedly cut him off.

"Then how about tomorrow? Tomorrow's a Saturday, so surely you'll be free then! Right?" Lana suggested, batting her eyes and trying but failing to flirt.

This time, he just nervously grinned. "Uh, I'm busy then, too."

Their conversation, of some sort, lasted for two more minutes, with Lana constantly asking if he was free on every single day of the week. Eventually, Link gave up the act of being busy and just flat out told her he wasn't interested.

Lana stood there, dumbfounded, not even bothering to watch Link make his way over to the table where Zelda was sitting.

During this time, Groose had begged Zelda for a date, to which she declined every single time he asked the question. Once she saw Link sitting down at their table out of the corner of her eye, she felt as if she had been saved.

 _Thank you, Hylia_ , she chanted, watching an angered Groose stare down Link.

"Get out of here!" Groose yelled at Link, pointing to a random table somewhere else.

Link shook his head. "Nope. I want to sit here."

"Zelda doesn't want to sit with losers!" Groose retorted, resisting the urge to slam his fists down on the table.

"Groose! You still use second grade level comebacks?" Link retorted. This irked the pompadour man to no end, causing him to grab his lunch tray and furiously leave Zelda's table.

Midna, who was watching this entire episode play out, couldn't help but laugh at what she witnessed.

" _That was entertaining_ ," Midna signed to Zelda, then saying the actual words to Link. They both nodded wholeheartedly in agreement with her statement.

Thinking back to what Lana had asked him sparked an interest in Link. Suddenly, he had the courage to say anything to her now, instead of limiting himself to what he thought was right to say. Clearing his throat, he pulled out his phone and slowly began to type a text message to Zelda.

Rereading the text over and over made him feel even more anxious about doing this, but it would be better if he just got it over with. Besides, he was still visiting his therapist, Telma, a person who he cared about now. Wouldn't she be proud of him for taking such a bold step forward?

He sent the text, deciding to wait for her reply instead of running away and cowering somewhere else. Midna looked over his shoulder sneakily and read the message, a smile erupting on her face once she had read it. She knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't help it.

Zelda felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her jeans, causing her to grab her phone and unlock it. She didn't read the text message until she entered the messaging app.

Link: do u wanna hang out after school

She watched him get nervous over sending this, but why? He had asked her the same thing last year.

Zelda: sure! like a date? ;)))))))

Smiling, she glanced upwards to see him staring at his phone with a light blush covering his cheeks. Slowly, he typed out his reply and sent it.

Link: not really

Zelda: it's cool with me. where to?

Link: um...how bout a coffee place?

Link: I mean

Link: do you even like coffee,?

Zelda: yea. That sounds cool with me.

Link: epic

••

Both of them went home first, making sure to properly prepare for their first date. Well, Zelda considered it a first date—she didn't know for sure if Link was keen on that idea.

Staring in the mirror, she realized only now how bland she looked. Compared to Midna or any other person at Hyrule High, Zelda considered herself boring and unattractive. She didn't know why Link even hung out with her in the first place. It wasn't out of pity, she knew that. But she still couldn't help her wandering mind.

Deciding to just stay dressed in the outfit she wore to school that day, Zelda made sure to brush out her hair so that it looked a little nicer. She wasn't wearing much makeup, only concealer, so she put lip gloss on just to make her appearance sort of _pop_. She wanted to stand out a little more.

Looking back in the mirror, she groaned when that little touch didn't make her look special at all. She gave up on trying to look stunningly gorgeous—after all, it was just a small date at a coffee shop. It's not like they were going to an expensive restaurant or anything.

Asking her parents if she could use their car, they kept asking her why she was even going out at this time. Sheepishly, she said that she and her friend were hanging out, to which her parents assumed was Midna, and let her off the hook. She had mentioned Link before, but she knew they'd just tease her about this date if she told them otherwise. Zelda couldn't handle that right now.

So, as she was driving to the coffee shop they agreed to go to, she began to ponder over what would happen this evening. Zelda began to pray that everything would go right as she pulled into the small parking lot and parked.

Zelda didn't bother to read the sign of the place, just hastily making her way towards the front door when she saw Link sitting in one of the tables beside the front window. The snow underneath her boots made a soft crunching noise, the fluffiness of it soon disappearing once she had reached the front door.

As she entered, a small little bell tinkled above her head, although she didn't hear it—well, because she couldn't, obviously. She made her way over to the table where Link was and sat down directly in front of him.

Looking up from his phone, he smiled once he saw her face. He pointed to the two coffees sitting on the table, gesturing for her to take one of them. She had already texted him what her favorite coffee was, so he probably bought just that, Zelda assumed.

Zelda took one of them, taking a sip of it and feeling like she was in heaven. Which, this scenario could easily be described that way—spending time with someone she liked and drinking her favorite coffee? Pretty cool.

Link: lol guess what

Zelda: hwat

Link: ...

Link: idk. let's just talk about stuff

Zelda: yes

Zelda: we shall talk while I enjoy this delectable coffee, thanks for getting my fave 😘😘

Link: uwu

Link: ur welcome

Zelda: lmao

Throughout their date, they communicated with each other through text, sharing laughs at the texts they sent each other. They learned quite a lot about each other during their date. Link already knew Zelda liked to draw, but she finally showed him a good amount of her artwork, all of which Link was marveled by. Although he was a bit embarrassed to admit this to her, he told her about how much he likes to write. Zelda said that she loves to read, and she would love to read anything he did write, which made Link feel very happy about his knack for writing.

Some others stared, wondering why the two were just texting and not interacting at all with each other, all of which neither minded.

Link was encased in his own little world of happiness for once in his life. Zelda always seemed to make the room a little brighter. Her presence was just that glowing and that captivating and _goddesses_ , Link loved it.

They had already downed their coffees, but neither of them bothered to throw them away just yet. It was used as a sort of excuse to stay around each other longer. Currently, they were having a vivid conversation about chip flavors—what they would taste like if you combined two specific flavors, cool flavors they should make, etcetera.

Soon, it was getting dark outside, and both of their parents wanted them to come home at this point (it was obvious by the frantic texts their parents sent to them). Much to both of their disappointment, they stood up and threw away their empty cups of coffee, exiting the shop and entering the chilly January weather in Hyrule.

Zelda was struggling to put her gloves back on, since her fingers felt so clammy due to the weather. She thought that the tips of her fingers could snap off any moment now, and half of her wasn't even exaggerating.

Watching her do this was hard, so Link just grabbed the other glove from her hand and began to slip it onto her bare hand. Zelda slowly kept putting her other glove on, mostly paying attention to Link's help. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were red, not only from the cold weather, but mostly because of what was happening right now. Whenever Link's fingertips brushed over her own skin, there was a jolt that shot through her body and made everything all tingly.

When she finally had both gloves on, the warmth encased her once shivering and red hands, allowing Zelda a sense of tranquility. She sighed in relief, opening her eyes once more and noticing that Link's face was, probably, equally as red as hers.

It could be due to the cold only, but she would never know.

Before they said goodbye, they gave each other a quick hug, a smile gracing Zelda's face.

Just like last year when they had embraced each other in a similar fashion to this, Zelda felt safe in his arms, as cheesy as that sounded. She knew all her statements and thoughts about him thus far made her sound like a stupid, lovesick teenager featured in every romance novel, but she didn't care at this point. She cared about him very much, and she didn't even bother to remember their rusty history.

Because, you know the reason. The past is in the past, and there's no need to dwell on past events forever.

Zelda was thankful that her ninth grade-self made that decision last year.


	22. Twenty-Two

Link was sitting in his room, and he was terribly bored. He couldn't think of a single thing to do that would entertain him in any way.

Aryll noticed his lack of interest in anything today, often times attempting to cheer him up. But, Link began to lock his door after Aryll paid one too many visits to his room. In the end, Aryll just gave up and returned to her daily activities, paying no mind to her older brother.

As he laid in his bed, he thought back to just a week ago when he asked Zelda out on their first "date." Well, Zelda herself considered it a date, so therefore he did as well. A smile erupted on his face at the word, _date_ , his heart soaring when he remembered the time they spent together that day.

All the more he reminisced on it, the more he urged himself to grab his phone and ask Zelda out again. There was so much doubt in doing this, though, since their last outing was only last week. Link felt like it'd be awkward to ask her again so soon, but he really wanted to do this.

Just the other day, Link had paid his weekly visit to his therapist, Telma. He told her all about his first date with Zelda, which easily pleased Telma to know that he was feeling much happier and even managed to hang out with someone outside of school. She then suggested that he ask her again sometime soon, making Link find even more courage to ask Zelda again.

Link couldn't stand the straining feeling of wondering what would happen today—plus, he was so bored and had nothing better to do with himself—so, he grabbed his phone and immediately began to text a message.

Before he sent it to Zelda, he read it over a couple of times, making sure to correct typos and make his question sound more _normal_. When he was satisfied with his words, he hurriedly sent the text, immediately turning his phone off afterwards. He sat it down on the floor and anxiously awaited the buzzing sound it would make. If that sound would even occur.

That sound did emit from the floor eventually, and Link let out a shaky sigh as he leaned off his bed to grab the electronic device. Once it was in his hands, he pressed the home button and saw her text.

Before he could read a single word in it, he just opened his phone completely and entered the messaging app, tapping on his conversations with Zelda.

Zelda: yes! I have nothing to do today anyways

Just as he finished reading her first message, she sent another one.

Zelda: where do you want to hang out this time?

 _Maybe she isn't considering this outing a date_ , Link thought, a bit of disappointment settling in his heart when she didn't mention that four-lettered word. At the same time, he felt relieved that she didn't find his request weird.

He faintly remembered Telma suggesting they visit a specific coffee shop in Hyrule—it was different from the one they visited last week, but it was worth a shot.

Link: there's this cool coffee place

Zelda: didn't we go there

Link: it's a different place u weirdo

Link: I heard it's pretty nice

Zelda: oh ok

Zelda: yes that sounds cool

Zelda: so is later today okay with you?

Link: yeah,, I mean it's noon right now but it's sunday tomorrow so any time is cool with me

Zelda: understandable

Link: how about two hours from now

Link: 2:00?

Zelda: that works

Zelda: see you then 😎

Link: 🅱️ye

This time, he let out a content sigh after ending that conversation with Zelda, going straight back to lounging around in his room.

But then again, he only had two hours to prepare. That included making his appearance look nice and mentally preparing himself for this. Both were not very easy tasks most of the time.

Two hours can surely go by in a flash, because the next thing Link knew, there were only five minutes until the clock would strike two.

Fiddling with his hair, he tried to tame its messiness. This was always the hardest part of getting freshened up for such outings, but everyone always said his hair looked fine, even if it was "messed up" in his perspective. But that's the odd way this world works—someone you consider beautiful could think that they're the ugliest person alive, and vice versa.

When Link was decently satisfied with his appearance, he made his way to the front door of his home, grabbing his car keys along the way.

"Link! Where the _heck_ are you going?" Aryll cried out when she noticed him leaving the house. "Mom and dad are almost home, can't you wait a little bit?"

He sighed, facing his little sister. "I think you're old enough to stay here by yourself, just for a little bit."

Aryll laughed dryly. "Yeah. But mom and dad think otherwise."

The moment those words slipped out of her mouth, the garage door began to open. Link looked outside and saw his father waving to him from his car.

"That's my cue!" Link exclaimed, directing those words towards Aryll. He slammed the front door shut and began to race to his own car.

It took awhile to actually enter his car, since his father began to question where he was even going. After a lot of explaining, his father let him off the hook, and Link tried to get to the coffee shop as quickly as she could.

When he did, he saw Zelda walking up to the front door. She looked terribly confused when she couldn't spot Link's figure anywhere. So, a bit awkwardly, she stood next to the door, pretending to be occupied with her phone. She was too nervous to enter the coffee shop without Link.

Witnessing this, Link jumped out of his car and locked it, stuffing his car keys into his pocket. Running up to Zelda, she looked up from her phone and caught sight of him. As Link approached her, he noticed her sapphire eyes filling with relief.

Link gestured for her to enter the coffee shop first. Quickly, he opened the door for Zelda, to which she dramatically curtsied his gesture. The two shared a laugh, now inside the coffee shop and sitting down at a table they chose.

Link texted Zelda that he would be ordering their coffees. With that, he stood up from his seat and walked up to the front counter.

When the lady there didn't turn around at first, he cleared his throat quite loudly. A few people stared, but for the first time, Link didn't care.

"'Scuse me," he tried gaining the woman's attention. She finally turned around, revealing a familiar woman he knew all too well.

" _Telma_?" he gasped out in shock, and the bigger woman just chuckled at his reaction.

"Your reaction—priceless!" Telma said with a hearty laugh, causing such a distraction that made Link's face turn red from embarrassment.

Miraculously recovering from his brief embarrassment, he retuned to the task at hand. "I just want to order some coffee."

Telma nodded, listening to Link's order and smiling, almost mischievously, when he ordered two coffees instead of one.

"Two, huh?" she murmured to herself, looking over Link's shoulder and noticing a girl about his age, mindlessly typing away on her phone.

"Who's that person?" Telma questioned, pointing over at Zelda.

"Oh, that's Zelda," Link answered.

"Zelda? So, that's what she looks like." Telma observed her a bit more. "She's a cutie!"

"Yeah," Link agreed at first, his face slowly turning red when he realized that he said that aloud. "Well, I mean—"

"There's no need to feel embarrassed," Telma said, rolling her eyes in a playful manner. Typing away at the register before her, she put in both of Link's orders. One of the other ladies behind the counter saw the order, frantically moving around the area and preparing both coffees.

"Well, I need to ask, why're you working here all of a sudden?" Link questioned. "I didn't know you had two jobs."

"I just work here part time, but I'm only doing this for my spoiled, rotten kitty—Louise," she explained briefly. "But I love that cat."

"Oh, so that's why you suggested this place. I was considering going back to the place Zelda and I went to last week—" He stopped talking there. Incoming teasing from Telma, and Link was not fully prepared for it.

Telma chuckled, wearing an amused expression. "So, this is your second date with her?"

Link flushed. "I never said it was a _date_." He rolled his eyes.

"It's obvious you like her, though."

"Is it really that obvious?" Link blurted out. "Zelda never seems to notice..."

"I don't know how she _doesn't_ ," Telma said with another laugh, turning around when the shorter lady behind her tapped her shoulder. Graciously taking the two fresh coffees from the lady, she nodded her head towards the table where Zelda sat.

"Go sit down, I'll bring these over to you guys." Telma held up the two coffees, beginning to walk around the counter.

"I can carry them over just fine," Link interjected, but Telma paid no mind to his statement and shook her head. Link started to reach for the two coffees, but Telma was quick to pull them out of his reach.

"I'm already doing it," she stated.

"But—"

"Go sit down."

With a huff of annoyance, Link walked back over to his table and sat down in front of Zelda. She looked up from her phone and beamed at him. That only made Link smile really stupidly back, and Telma noticed that small scene play out.

She sat the two cups of coffee down, placing both hands on her hips and smiling at Zelda. "So you're Zelda," she said.

When Zelda just stared aimlessly at the taller woman, Telma had a look of confusion strewn across her face.

"She can't hear," Link informed Telma without Zelda noticing his lips moving, and Telma lightly nodded.

"I can speak sign language," Telma told him. "I thought it'd be useful to know for my other job and this one, too."

 _How convenient_ , Link thought, placing his head in the palm of his hand and glancing at both Zelda and Telma from time to time.

Telma had begun conversing with Zelda via sign language, something that Zelda was overjoyed to discover. Link had no idea what they were discussing, but he was really hoping it didn't involve him whatsoever. Telma knew more about Link than Zelda did, since he was supposed to vent all of his problems and feelings to her. It was her job to listen, and she heeded everything he said so well. So, she could spew anything at Zelda that could embarrass Link in some way. Maybe not things about his mental health, but the dumb things he mentioned to Telma when he found himself getting too far off in a conversation.

They were conversing normally for about two minutes, until Telma made a strange face as she was signing to Zelda. Many signs later, Zelda's cheeks turned red with joy, giggling at whatever Telma had said.

A look of skepticism crossed over Link's features, causing him to raise one eyebrow and give Zelda a questioning look.

However, Zelda was too endorsed in whatever Telma was speaking to her about. Whatever it was, it must have intrigued Zelda so much, because she wasn't even glancing Link's way.

Telma said a couple more things to Zelda, glancing at Link—she was basically yelling, "This conversation is about you, Link!" Then again, maybe not, but his cheeks still grew red in embarrassment.

"Telma, what're you telling her?" Link finally demanded through clenched teeth, his demeanor changing in an instant and causing said woman to stop signing and look at him.

Telma laughed one of those hearty laughs again. "Oh, nothing important."

"You're not talking about me, right?" Link inquired again.

"Absolutely not," Telma reassured him, but the joyful grin plastered over her face said otherwise. "I'm not that evil."

He sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere with this.

"Can you...leave, please?" Link pleaded, and Zelda began to look at both of them, wondering what was going on now.

"Don't take this personally, but, this is our... _date_ ," the word took some effort to roll of his tongue, "and I'd like to be...y'know... _alone_ with Zelda."

Telma dramatically placed her hand over her heart. "Goodness, forgive me. I was getting too into the conversation with dear Zelda here, but I'll be on my way now."

"Thanks," Link whispered, watching Telma walk off for about three seconds, then facing Zelda again.

Watching Telma communicate with Zelda so easily using sign language sparked an even bigger interest in learning the language himself. A bright lightbulb illuminated in the back of Link's mind, making him smile at the idea he had been given.

Just like their date last week, this one went quite well. They delved into strange conversations, as per usual, sipping their coffees with delight. Often times, Zelda would just giggle for no reason, and Link assumed she was remembering something funny—he feared it was something that Telma had told her.

Telma had obviously talked about him to Zelda, but he would never know what exactly she said.

Heaving a sigh, Link checked the time and realized how late it had become. Had they really been here for two hours? It was only four o'clock, but that would mean dinner would be prepared in a few hours for most families.

Zelda: can you believe

Zelda: we've been talking for two hours

Zelda: two hours!

Link: unbelievable!

Link: should we just leave now

Zelda: I think that'd be best...the workers here are probably wondering why we've been here so long lol

Link: u right

Link: well this was very fun thank you for coming here with me

Zelda: no problem, I had fun too

Zelda stood up as she sent this text, smiling down on Link and causing his cheeks to flush red. She found this adorable, but managed to contain herself. Instead of hugging him like she usually did when bidding a goodbye to Link, she just waved at him with a positive look in her eyes.

As she left the coffee shop, Link got one more text from her.

Zelda: might I add that u looked very cute today ? just thought I'd let u know

Zelda: see u later

 _Why is she doing this to me?_ Link's thoughts screamed. He covered his face with his hands, feeling his cheeks increasingly warm up as her text reread over and over in his mind.

She thought he looked _cute_?

Link felt proud of himself for actually trying to look decent, now.

He didn't forget about that lightbulb that appeared in his head earlier. Scrambling out of his chair, throwing away the two empty cups at his vacant table, Link hustled over to Telma.

" _Telma_ ," he snapped to get her attention, to which the red haired woman turned around with slight shock in her eyes. That disappeared when she saw it was just Link.

"Oh, you're still here?" she said. "I observed you two—you seemed to be having lots of fun."

Link chuckled, feeling a bit bashful. "We were just texting."

"I saw your smile, you looked overjoyed," Telma commented, turning to face him now. "You look like you're getting better, and I couldn't be more than happy to see that."

"I guess." Link shrugged, and then his eyes widened with excitement. "Listen—I need your help with something."

Telma raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"I didn't know you could speak sign language, but now that I do, I—I need you to teach me how to speak it, too," Link explained, slapping his hands together in a prayer motion. "Please help me. I want to be able to talk to Zelda properly and—and make her... y'know.. _happy_."

Link's therapist was a bit taken aback by his sudden request, but she was more than happy to oblige and help him with this problem. After all, she could teach him the language during his therapy sessions with her. It would work well.

"Thank you," Link said to her, followed with multiple thank you's afterwards.

"You really love her, don't you?" Telma whispered, although Link did hear her words.

His thank you's halted and his cheeks turned red—again. Some sort of delightful feeling bubbled in his stomach, settling completely when Zelda's face appeared in his mind. Link smiled a little at the image.

Sheepishly, with pink cheeks and a grateful smile on his face, he looked down at his shoes. "I do."


	23. Twenty-Three

**A/N: I originally wrote this before chapter twenty-two (it was going to be chapter twenty-two, actually), but a friend of mine suggested the previous chapter and I just had to write it. But, here's my own ideas. Drastically worse than the amazing-ness my friends can create, but hopefully it is enjoyable nonetheless!**

Today marked the first day of February, which to many meant that it was time for the month of love. For others, it was another month to remind them of how alone they were, but they didn't mind all that much.

For Groose and Lana, it was the perfect chance to finally win over the two they had fallen in love with. Valentine's Day would be such an utterly perfect day to woo their crushes over and turn them against each other. It was foolproof—there was absolutely no way this plan could fail. Not like the last one they attempted in January.

They were at the supermarket, searching everywhere for the perfect gift for their crushes. The tricky part of this shopping adventure was that neither of them knew what the other person wanted.

"What do you think Zelda likes?" Groose asked for the fifteenth time, boiling anger up in Lana's veins.

"How should I know?!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who likes her—why don't you know the answer to that question?"

Groose felt like he was going to cry again. _Does this guy just cry every five seconds?!_ Lana thought angrily to herself, watching as the red haired boy bit his tongue to try and stop his tears from flowing.

"I don't know what Zelda likes!" he cried, causing an elderly woman to stare at him with an odd look as she traversed her way through the aisle they were in.

Lana covered her face with her small hands. "You're such an embarrassment."

"I know. That's probably why Zelda doesn't like me," he groaned and Lana couldn't help but agree.

"I can see why she wouldn't," she said cheekily, making Groose look down at the dirty floors in shame. "But don't worry! You can easily fix this lame personality of yours and boom! She'll like you. Just have faith."

Groose perked up at her words, sniffing a couple of times and wiping his eyes free of tears. "R—Really? You think?"

Lana forced a smile. "Sure. Now, I have an idea. We can just make Zelda—and Link—some chocolates or something. You can't go wrong with sweets, right?"

"Yeah, but that's such a predictable move," Groose complained, but agreed to it once he realized he didn't have any better ideas. "Let's just go with that. I'll make some brownies for Zelda."

"Then I'll just make homemade chocolates for Link," Lana said dreamily, swooning at the image of Link that magically appeared in her mind. She pictured out the situation—her giving the chocolates and Link receiving them, coming so close to her face and—

"Oh!" Lana jumped, realizing she had zoned out in her own world. "Quick, Groose! We gotta get the materials and plan this all out!"

So, they did just that, using Lana's money to pay for all the goods they bought. Exiting the store, they held onto their lightweight bags full of the necessities for creating their sweets.

"Well, neither of us traveled here by car, so we have to walk home," Groose observed, to which Lana just nodded along to.

"Alright. It's February first, and we need to have them done before the fourteenth, obviously," Lana instructed, beginning to walk home. Groose's home was in the same direction as Lana's route for awhile, so they had a couple minutes to discuss their plan.

"That's a Wednesday, right?" Groose questioned.

"Mhm. Therefore, we have about two weeks until Valentine's Day," Lana said.

••

Those two weeks passed by quicker than everyone had expected. Today was February fourteenth, Valentine's Day.

The moment Link walked into school, he saw people handing out their Valentine's gifts. Ranging from chocolates to superb gifts, Link felt like his own was pretty cliché and bland.

Holding onto it, he stared down at he box of sweets he had made for a special someone. Anyone who knew Link well enough knew that that special someone was none other than Zelda.

During the two weeks, Link and Midna had discussed over what he should give Zelda. After much debate and controversy, Midna came up with the simplistic idea of just making cookies for her. According to Midna, Zelda loved anything sweet related, especially chocolate chip cookies.

So, the night before today, Link spent most of his time after school making some cookies for Zelda. He felt like it wouldn't be enough, because someone would probably give her something much more extravagant.

Link and Midna had decided he should give them to her during lunchtime, or after school if the former didn't work out for whatever reason. So, he opened his locker once arriving at it, carefully fitting the box of cookies inside of it and grabbing his necessary books. Closing his locker shut, he passed by Zelda as everyone was making their way to class. Zelda seemed to be too focused on going to class, because she only glanced at Link for a second before speeding off.

It was probably nothing, but Link began to overthink it, as per usual.

During his Algebra class, Link dropped his pencil. Not a very exciting experience, but someone sitting next to him offered him a new and mechanical pencil, which was much fancier than his boring number-two pencil.

Gingerly, Link accepted the pencil from the person. "Thank you," he said, and the person just nodded.

"No problem," they whispered. "Isn't your name Link?"

He was taken aback. "How did you know that?"

"Sometimes I sit at lunch with Lana, only because I'm friends with her sister," they explained in a hushed voice. "You're all she talks about."

Link groaned, but then he recognized this person. "I remember you. You're Sheik, right?"

Sheik nodded. "Mhm."

Sheik was about to say something else, but the teacher caught them talking during class and began a frivolous lecture about how they would fail the tenth grade if they didn't pay attention. A lecture that occurred frequently in this class.

"Sheik, dearie!" Mr. Ghirahim exclaimed in a blasphemous tone. "You shouldn't be talking to others while I'm teaching!"

"Mr. Ghirahim, I was just handing him a pencil—" Sheik started, trying to end this pointless lecture, but the pompous man raised his hand firmly in the air and instantly silenced them.

"Silence! You either listen or my class, or you get out!" he exclaimed.

 _Mr. Ghirahim has anger issues_ , Link thought.

Despite how angry their teacher had become, his hair somehow managed to stay perfectly in place, the slickness of it not wavering.

"This makes me furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!" he yelled. "All I do is ask you to listen, and then you...you converse with classmates!"

"Mr. Ghirahim, you're overreacting again," a Gerudo girl with red hair, which Link remembered her name to be Riju, said.

Their strange teacher finally calmed himself down, brushing imaginary dirt off of his pristine outfit. "You are correct, Miss Riju. I thank you for calming me down."

Riju rolled her eyes, resting her knuckles on her cheek. "Yeah, no problem."

"Shall we carry on?" Mr. Ghirahim chirped, as if his outburst just seconds ago never even happened in the first place.

••

Lunchtime had finally arrived, and Link discreetly took the box of cookies from his locker. The box was small, so he just fit it in his lunchbox until he was ready to give it to Zelda.

As he nervously made his way to the cafeteria, Sheik ran up behind him.

"Oh, hi," Link greeted a bit awkwardly.

"Hello," Sheik said. "Do you mind if Cia and I sit with you at lunch? We'd much rather sit with you guys, as opposed to Lana."

"Oh, uh, I don't mind," Link answered. "You'll have to ask Midna, though. She's very picky about who sits with us. Zelda and I are the only ones who have been accepted by her."

Both of them entered the cafeteria, spotting out Link's usual table and shuffling over to it. Much to Link's dismay, Groose was sitting there and flirting with Zelda. It was a sad attempt at flirting, but he was still doing it, nonetheless. It annoyed Link, again.

Link sat down at the table, making sure to not give Zelda her gift just yet. He wanted to rid of Groose before that happened.

Sheik just stood there awkwardly. "Mind if Cia and I sit here?" they asked.

Midna looked up and shook her head. "No. Go away."

"Okay, whatever," Sheik grunted, making their way over to the table where Lana and Cia were sitting, with heaps of the popular crowd there as well.

Midna nudged Link's side. "Give her the gift," she whispered, making sure Groose didn't hear. He was too indulged in flirting with Zelda that he didn't even hear them.

"Not yet," Link whispered back. "I don't want Groose to be here when I do."

"Then you're gonna have to wait until the end of the day, because Groose isn't gonna leave," Midna said back in a quiet voice, forcing a smile when Groose glanced her way.

Link didn't want that to be the case, but that was his only option now. Otherwise, Groose would go berserk on him for giving Zelda a gift.

He was surprised that Groose hadn't given her anything at this point. Surprised, Link crossed his arms over his chest and just glared at Groose.

Thankfully, the school day ended quickly and everyone was released.

Just like Link's plan, tons of his peers were giving their dates gifts for this special day of love. They all looked so confident in doing so, but Link was never one to judge someone by how they outwardly acted. You never know what someone else is thinking. He wished other people had that mindset. Wouldn't the world work a little better if things were like that? It'd be too easy, then.

Link was staring at the box of cookies, when he heard the rustling of grass emit from behind his back. Peering over his shoulder, he wasn't very surprised to see Zelda standing there with a quizzical look on her face.

They just stared at each other for about five seconds, until Zelda pointed directly at the box he was holding.

He gasped a little bit, feeling his cheeks grow warm as he hid the box in front of him. Then, he stood up from where he was sitting on the ground, maneuvering the box around so that it was behind his back this time.

Inhaling and exhaling sharply, Link bestowed the box to Zelda, though it wasn't much of a surprise to her since she had seen it already. She was just surprised he was giving it to her.

Gingerly, she accepted the pink box, lacing her fingers over the delicate pink bow and strings that had been tied elegantly around it. Then, she opened the actual box, chuckling when she saw the batch of cookies.

Her eyes averted upwards, meeting his. Link froze a bit, waiting for her reaction.

It was almost subconsciously that their faces drew near each other, but they both wanted this to happen.

Zelda closed her eyes just as Link did, waiting for the impact of his lips meeting hers. That never happened. She opened her eyes and saw herself staring at the skies with puckered lips.

Warily, she looked around for Link, soon finding him being screamed at by Groose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Groose yelled, pointing at Link as he screamed.

Link furrowed his eyebrows, shoving Groose a couple of inches away from him. "What do you think?! You completely ruined that!"

"Ha, that was my intention!" Groose exclaimed proudly, looking towards Zelda and seeing how heartbroken she looked. This made his happy aura instantly die off, and he slumped his shoulders in disgrace.

"Why does she even like you?" the red haired man wept, feeling anger slowly overtake him.

"How do you know she likes me?" Link retorted.

"You're being an idiot!" Groose yelled all of a sudden. "She tried to kiss you! Friends don't just _do_ that—on Valentine's Day, especially!"

As Link was trying to make up a clever response to that, despite the fact that Groose could've been partially correct, he saw blue hair coming towards him out of the corner of his eye.

"Linky-poo!" Lana said in a singsong voice, handing Link a gigantic pink box. "Happy Valentine's Day! Those are homemade—by me!"

Opening up the box, Link saw tons of small chocolates all neatly placed inside of it. They looked delicious, but then again...it was Lana who made them.

He faked a smile. "Wow! Thanks, Lana."

The girl nodded and happily skipped away, not wanting to intervene on the fight between Groose and Link.

Turning around, Link handed over the chocolates to Groose—well, more like shoved it into his arms.

"Keep those. I don't want 'em," he said through clenched teeth, feeling like that this entire incident, one that lasted about fifteen minutes, had completely drained Link of all his mental energy. He didn't even listen to Groose's shouts, walking back over to Zelda and shrugging his shoulders.

Zelda just smiled sympathetically, her eyebrows lowering. She looked really heartbroken. But of course, Link didn't have any ounce of courage to do what he could've done minutes ago. He was living in the moment then, and during those times, anything was possible for him.

That moment was over, and he couldn't do that again. Not until another opportunity came up.

He desperately wanted to speak to her, but with his current knowledge of sign language so far, he didn't think that informing her of dairy products would benefit in any way. He still had a lot of work to do, with the help of Telma.

So, he briskly hugged her instead, mentally planning to apologize for this incident once he got home over text.

Once he let go, Zelda didn't look as sad anymore, which made Link feel a little bit better.

If Groose hadn't intervened, this entire evening would've played out much smoother.

Link despised Groose even more than he did before, if that was even possible at this point.


	24. Twenty-Four

The first day of March had arrived, and Link was currently paying a visit to Telma once more. It was the time of the week when he got to visit her for his therapy, but in actuality, he and his therapist were just practicing sign language this time.

Lately, Link had been feeling a lot better. Mentally, he felt refreshed and not constantly weighed down by a mysterious, negative force. He didn't want to take this burst of happiness for granted, because who knows when it'll end? It was a brief blessing he rarely got.

During their lesson today, Link had finally learned almost the entire language—and in just two months! He was very proud of himself, even impressed that he improved so much in such little time. It wasn't as difficult to learn a new language as he assumed it would be. Although he wasn't completely fluent, he knew a good chunk of sign language now.

Telma smiled at Link, placing both of her clasped hands in her lap. "I see that look in your eyes. What are you planning to do?"

"Prom is soon, y'know." Link couldn't help but smile as he spoke, thinking of the brunette girl who managed to make him smile at just the thought of her. "I'm going to ask Zelda to go with me."

Telma's eyes filled with pride, wishing for the best to fall upon Link.

••

Lana stared absently at her lunch tray, picking at her rice as if she was a zombie. Groose was sitting beside her, poking her shoulder to try and awaken the girl from her trance. At first he thought she was just mesmerized by the rice, but he didn't know anyone insane enough to become captivated by rice that quickly.

The two had been hanging out a lot more than before, all because of their childish plan to cause a falling in Link and Zelda's relationship. To be truthfully honest, Groose didn't even feel any sort of infatuation towards Zelda anymore. Shockingly enough, his feelings were starting to aim at Lana instead. He didn't know why—she was a stuck up and annoying girl, barely anybody could tolerate her for a long time. That was the most interesting part to this. Groose didn't want to like Lana, but he couldn't help it.

The only reason she was even hanging out with him was solely for the purpose of this plan. So, Groose had to pretend to go along with all of this for however long it lasted, despite his sudden feelings towards Lana.

He had decided he would purposely fail his mission to win Zelda's heart, because he didn't care much about ruining her and Link's lives anymore. They deserved to be happy, just like he did.

Lana snapped out of her rice trance and jerked her head to the side to see Groose. "Oh, it's you. How do you do?"

"You were really captivated by that rice," Groose explained in short, causing Lana to make a face and look back at her rice.

Then she remembered. "Oh! That must've looked weird. I was really lost in though a second ago, sorry. Thanks for snapping me out of it, though. Everyone would've started to stare at me..."

Groose shrugged. "It's no problem. What were you thinking about?"

" _Link_ ," she answered immediately, flashing an attempt at a cute grin towards Groose.

"Oh," he answered dully, returning to eating the chicken he had brought for his lunch.

"I was meaning to ask you earlier, but let's hang out after school," Lana said. "To, you know, discuss all of this stuff."

Groose was taken aback by her sudden request. This time, it was Lana's turn to snap him out of his daydream. He blinked a couple of times before nodding a bit too eagerly as a response to her question, making Lana smile and return to eating the rest of her lunch.

••

Currently, Zelda was playing _Splatoon 2_ on her _Swirl_ again, somewhat impatiently awaiting Link's arrival.

She had originally invited both him and Midna over to her house, to hang out as a group for the first time. Unfortunately, and quite suspiciously too, Midna declined immediately after Zelda mentioned that Link would be coming as well. Apparently, she was going to be busy today.

Zelda didn't believe her excuse for a second. While it was true that Midna may be busy, Zelda could still see that she was purposely lying. She knew her best friend very well, and Midna rarely left the house. In Midna's own words, "why would I need to? My house has food, a bathroom, and my entertainment sources." It was all so that it would just be Link and Zelda hanging out — alone.

Sighing, Zelda turned off her Swirl and sat down on her bed, mentally preparing herself for the evening that lied ahead. Anything could happen during the few hours that Link would be here, and she feared some of the outcomes her brain was coming up with, all ranging from him not even showing up to her embarrassing herself in some way.

Someone entered her room, and Zelda wasn't very shocked to see her father entering. What she was surprised by was Link's sudden appearance behind her father. This embarrassed her for some reason, knowing that Link could've been down there for—goddesses know how long—talking to her parents. If that was the case, what could they have possibly discussed with him? They probably told Link all of the embarrassing things she did when she was a child, because that's how typical her life seemed to be. Or, rather not, she was hoping.

" _Have fun you two_ ," Father signed to the two of them, grinning almost mischievously as he left Zelda's room, closing the door gently on his way out.

Link nodded and took in a deep breath, exhaling shortly after he laid his eyes on Zelda. He grinned half-heartedly at her, or what Zelda liked to call his signature smile.

She smiled back in response, eyeing him as he sat down beside her on her bed.

Zelda crossed her legs over each other, then recalled her father's departure. He didn't even talk to Link when he left. How was Link supposed to understand the words he signed? Maybe that was her father's intention, but why would he do that?

An impractical realization hit her, causing Zelda to sharply face Link and sign the words, " _C_ _an you understand this?_ " to him.

He did another one of those, Zelda-labeled, cute grins. " _Yes_ ," he signed back with ease, and Zelda could've burst into tears right then and there. She somehow contained her emotions, though.

A smile overtook her face. " _So, you can understand everything I'm saying to you right now?_ " she sighed again with a questioning look on her face.

Playfully rolling his eyes, Link nodded again and signed a quick " _yes_ " to reassure her.

That's when she actually did start crying. She knew she was so over-emotional, but she couldn't help it now. Just like with Groose, she came to the conclusion yet again that anyone who bothered to learn the language just _may_ care about her that much.

Flinging her arms around Link, she hugged him tightly and wanted to shout thank you's to him, but she couldn't, as you all know. Flushing slightly, Link wrapped his arms protectively around Zelda's waist and hugged her in return, making the girl smile even more.

 _Dear Din, wouldn't it be embarrassing if mother or father walked in right now?_ she wondered, mentally praying that the moment she thought of that happening, that the incident occurred in the real world.

Their hugging session lasted briefly, and Link was the one to pull away first. Zelda sat a bit closer to him this time, eventually figuring out that Link wasn't fluent in the language. He knew quite a lot of it, but not entirely enough.

" _So, you're not fluent_ ," Zelda signed her statement.

" _No. I don't know much_ ," he replied, keeping his hands in the air as he thought of how to sign his next question.

" _Did you hear about prom?_ " he inquired, laying his hands on his lap when he finished.

Now it was clearly obvious that he wasn't fluent, because he almost flunked saying the word " _prom_ ," but quickly recovered his mistake in seconds.

But, she had no idea there was prom this year. Prom was held last year when she was in ninth grade, but Zelda didn't bother attending—she knew nobody would ask her to it, and nobody did. So, she and Midna hung out that night, just watching a marathon of their favorite shows and eating unhealthy snacks, occasionally weeping in their own loneliness.

" _No, when is it?_ " she returned his question with one of her own.

" _I think it's at the end of April_ _, o_ _r beginning of May_ ," he signed with some difficulty, messing up on his grammar along the way. He didn't even notice, though.

Link almost did pop the question, but something was forcing him not to. He decided to listen this time, deciding that asking now, so abruptly, would be foolhardy. He wanted to wait for a better moment.

Zelda nodded, gazing up at her popcorn ceiling and trying to think of something entertaining they could do together. She had no two player games for her _Swirl_ yet, even though she had owned the console for over a year already. What else was there to do in her boring room?

She smacked her lips together and then glanced at Link, who was just on his phone.

 _Gee, this must be awkward for him_ , she thought, hoping that wasn't the case for Link.

Standing up from her bed, she searched her bedroom to find something entertaining. Of course, nothing! She only had silly puzzles and such from years ago, things she hadn't even touched in those lonely years, leaving them there to collect dust.

Walking back over to Link, she tapped his head to grab his attention. When she had it, she smiled a bit.

" _What do you want to do?_ " she signed, and Link turned off his phone.

" _We could play truth or dare_ ," Link suggested.

 _How clich_ _é_. Zelda came to the assumption that her life really replicated that of a female protagonist in a teenage romance novel. Despite her annoying conclusion, she agreed to his suggestion, nonetheless, finding no reason as to why that was a bad idea.

They both sat on the floors of her bedroom for this, legs in a criss-cross position and eyes gazing at each other.

" _Truth or dare_ _?_ " Zelda signed first, and Link bit his lip as he thought of an alright answer.

"Hmm..." he hummed aloud. " _Truth_ ," he signed to her.

Zelda sighed. Truth was such a boring option, but it could be a fun one, depending on what kind of question she asked. " _Do you like pineapple on pizza?_ " she signed.

Link managed to pull off the most flabbergasted face she had ever witnessed, causing her to chuckle and move her hand to cover her mouth. An embarrassed blush crept into his cheeks, but he didn't even notice. He was too overwhelmed with the fact that Zelda had even brought up the atrocity of that meal. Could you even call pineapple pizza a meal?

" _No, but I'm pretty sure my actions made it obvious_ _where my answer falls_ ," Link signed back with a smile on his face, laughing a bit soon after he finished his words.

Zelda's laughter died down and she moved her hand back into her lap, her smile slowly fading as Link stared back at her.

" _Truth or dare?_ " he signed to her.

" _Dare_ ," she sighed back almost immediately. Link stared at her with mock shock written across his face, a look of impressiveness soon forming instead.

" _Well, okay_ ," he signed, closing his eyes for just a second as he pondered over the dare he would give her.

" _I dare you to..._ " Link stopped. What an obvious route to go down, but his mind always drew a blank whenever he needed creativeness most. Unfortunately, now was one of those times. " _Who do you like?_ "

Zelda clenched her teeth together and hid her face behind both hands in shock. Mentally, her thoughts were screaming at her to just get the dare over with. But, she was sane enough not to do that, because Link was the person she liked! Wouldn't that weird him out if she admitted her feelings right _here_ , right _now_?

She uncovered her face. " _How about no?_ " she signed with a look of mock confusion on her face.

" _I figured you'd say that_ ," Link signed back. " _Okay. I dare you to eat pineapple on pizza_."

" _I've never even tried that before_ ," she admitted, trying to imagine what that combination would even taste like. Was it sweet? How did cheese taste with pineapple juice? Did it make the crust soggy? Zelda grimaced at that last thought.

Link smirked. " _Only until you've eaten it will you know how disgusting it truly is_ ," he said, with a matter-of-fact look on his face.

Zelda rolled her eyes. " _I'll do the dare later; promise. Anyways, truth or dare?_ "

" _Truth_."

" _Would you rather hang out with your least favorite teacher, or drink dirty pool water?_ " Zelda asked with a smirk, leaving Link speechless.

" _Uh, hang out with my least favorite teacher...then again, being around_ _Mr._ _Ghirahim would be a nightmare_ ," Link signed his pondering, then sighing heavily. " _In all honesty, I'd rather drink dirty pool water_."

Zelda stuck out her tongue. " _Gross_."

The rest of the day went well, minus the pineapple pizza incident where Zelda could have thrown up from the taste. It was definitely not what she was expecting from a food combination like that. So, aside from that, Link and Zelda decided to retire on the truth or dare idea, in favor of watching a cheesy film.

It was about eight o'clock when they did that. The beginning of the film was spent with them making fun of everything featured in it constantly, soon leading to a tired Zelda who quickly fell asleep.

Her head was resting on Link's shoulder, brown tresses hanging from there and covering parts of her face.

Link had completely zoned out from watching the film, just for a moment, to gaze at Zelda and remind himself of how lucky he was to have this life.

Rarely, Link had short bursts of happiness such as right now. In the past, he had always taken it for granted, always believing that was the end of his sadness—at last! The sadness always came back, though, and the happiness would fade.

Those times lead to him being dramatic. He remembered the poem he had written when he grew jealous of Groose and Zelda, feeling as if he had reached a very low point in his life. Now, he concluded that was being dramatic, in fact. He was only at it again, sitting at that lonely desk in his room with a pen.

He decided not to take this moment for granted, for he knew the sadness would return. Link decided to just relish in the moment instead, leaning his head atop Zelda's and closing his eyes, soon finding himself being drawn into the realm of sleep.


	25. Twenty-Five

Link awoke on the floor, almost screaming out of fear when he saw Zelda laying right next to him, with one of her arms draped over his stomach.

Carefully, Link removed her arm from his stomach and slowly sat up, making sure not to wake Zelda. He looked around, noting that he was still in Zelda's room and still wearing his outfit from yesterday. Looking straight at the TV, Link recognized the film playing on it. It was the film that they had watched last night together, and it seemed to have been replaying all night long.

 _Wait_ _—_ _why am I still here?_ he wondered, grabbing his phone nearby and seeing only three text messages from his mother.

momther: Zelda's parents said you fell asleep there, and it was very late when you did. I didn't want you to have to come back home so early in the morning, especially with the snow.

momther: I hope that was ok with you, we just didn't want to wake you. It snowed terribly last night.

momther: Just be home by ten o'clock tomorrow. We love you! ❤️

 _Sent 12:34 AM_

Link wished he had just trekked his way home last night. He honestly didn't care if it would be terrifyingly cold—this situation was even worse for him.

He just had to maneuver his way out of Zelda's room without waking her, thank her parents for allowing him to unexpectedly stay the night, and get out of this house.

As he approached the door to Zelda's room, he heard her yawn and rise from where she had been laying on the ground. He looked over his shoulder at her, failing to contain his blush when he noticed how _cute_ she looked. Despite her messy hair and half-lidded eyes, she still looked _cute_.

 _Stupid_ _, shut up, brain_ _. I have to leave_ , he scolded himself, but he just couldn't open the door when she had fully been awoken, smiling one of those wonderful smiles at him.

Link couldn't help but smile back, watching with slight fear as she began to walk over to where he was.

" _You're leaving?_ " she signed her question to him, and it took a few seconds for Link to understand what she said, but when he did he replied.

" _Yeah_ ," he signed back. " _Thank you for letting me stay the night_."

" _Night?_ " Zelda signed her thoughts, looking out her windows and feeling incredibly dumb for not noticing the blinding daylight. She looked back at Link. " _Well, you're welcome_."

Zelda briefly wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled into his neck, sending shivers down Link's spine. She always did that; perhaps she knew how weak it could make him. Link sighed at this thought as Zelda pulled away.

Link waved goodbye to Zelda once more and made his way down to the first floor. That's where he thanked Zelda's parents for allowing him to sleep over that night, to which they happily said "no problem" and let him be on his way home.

Just after he left the house, Mother looked at Father with an all-knowing grin on her face.

"Link seems like a good boy," she said, and Father just heartily chuckled, agreeing with his wife's statement.

••

Later in the day, Zelda remembered something.

Prom was approaching, and fast. Zelda and Midna vowed that they would attend prom this year, even if they would end up going alone. They wanted to experience an event like prom before their high school years were over.

Midna was waiting impatiently in Zelda's room, tapping her foot on the ground in a random beat, while Zelda was finishing up her algebra homework.

Slapping her pencil down on the worksheet, she stood up and startled Midna.

" _I can't do this anymore_ ," Zelda signed with a frown, to which Midna nodded solemnly in response.

" _Math's a bitch_ ," Midna signed back. She lifted herself off the floor of Zelda's room and grabbed her friend's hand, making Zelda grin.

" _Shall we go?_ " Zelda signed.

" _We shall_." Midna smirked.

And then, they were off to find prom dresses.

Since the Harkinian family was very wealthy, as mentioned before, they allowed both of the girls to use a gracious amount of money to spend on their dresses.

Arriving at the mall was a simple task, but finding the right dresses would make this shopping trip difficult. If their prom was soon, then other school districts would be holding their own prom's soon. Therefore, the stores would be packed with other people, all with one initial goal: to find the perfect prom outfit.

They entered the actual mall, looking to and fro for a good store to start in. Midna decided to just follow the largest crowds of teenagers, entering some random dress shop, with Zelda tagging behind.

" _There's a lot of dresses here_ ," Midna signed to Zelda. " _How're we going to pick from just one of these?_ _I don't understand how people do this._ "

Zelda shrugged. " _I don't know,_ _either_ ," she signed, " _but we'll find our ways_."

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes only deepened into hours, with no such luck in finding the perfect dresses for either of them.

" _I don't even know what colors suit me_ ," Zelda complained, removing her hand from the felt red dress she had examined. " _I'm not really the fanciest person, and you know that, Midna_."

Midna was looking at a green dress, not even paying any attention to her friend's desperate pleas, or rather her complaints.

Zelda heaved a small sigh, deciding to spread out instead of staying huddled in one area. Moving through the swarms of other people, her age or older, was very difficult for the brunette tenth grader. She accidentally bumped into some of them a lot, to which she could only mentally apologize for her careless mistake. The amount of people was making her feel quite under pressure, which was not a good thing either. A headache was threatening to form, but she withstood it until she finally broke free of the crowd of people.

She glanced at one of their faces, wishing she could be as pretty as everyone else here. Self confidence was a very hard thing for anyone to achieve, and seeing people who looked so _gorgeous_ , compared to her plain self, made Zelda feel only worse about her confidence. It was something she couldn't help, no matter how desperately she wished to gain more of her lost confidence.

As she slipped by another girl, she collided with someone familiar, almost falling into one of the dress racks. Zelda managed to save herself before she made a huge scene, steadying herself back on both feet.

She was not surprised to see Lana standing there wearing a smirk, with a blue Zora girl standing beside her with an equally menacing grin plastered over her face. Was this Lana's new friend? Zelda had seen this Zora before, and apparently her name was Ruto. Ruto wasn't known for her kindness at Hyrule High, but rather her rudeness—just like Lana! So, of course, Zelda was _super_ happy to be able to see both of them at once.

Zelda only glared at Lana, as that was the only thing she could really do to show her annoyance towards this girl.

Lana knew good and well that Zelda was incapable of hearing, so she mouthed some words to the girl.

"Hey!" she mouthed first. "Link will be going to prom with _me,_ not you" Lana mouthed slowly, as if she had already read Zelda's mind and its intentions for tonight.

Unfortunately, Zelda read every single word on Lana's lips. This only caused a seed of nervousness to plant in her stomach, and Zelda only wished that she could just run away from Lana. She could be lying, and her words didn't concern Zelda all that much. Zelda just didn't know if Lana would try to hurt her—like, push her into the racks of dresses. Dumb cat fights.

 _Why would that even happen?_ Zelda questioned herself, finally feeling her feet become unstuck from the floors and trace backwards. _She probably wouldn't do that._

Lana grinned almost evilly again at Zelda's reaction—it was just what she wanted. To strike fear into the girl, or at least make her feel even more hopeless than she already did about prom. In truth, Lana hadn't even asked Link if he was going to prom in the first place. Oh, but it was such a good opportunity to rise a reaction like this out of Zelda.

Zelda finally turned away from Lana and Ruto, thankful that she didn't have to hear them. For all she knew, they could be snickering right behind her back, and in actuality, they were.

"It was good enough," Ruto muttered. "You're gonna have to ask Link to prom before she does, though."

Lana laughed shortly. "Hah. Do you think she even has the courage do to that, now?"

Ruto just shrugged, then replied with words. "You never know. She can't talk—who knows what that girl hides in her head? Maybe she's plotting some master plan..."

Her Zora friend was very correct, and Lana didn't want to accept that fact. With rage in her heart, she commanded Ruto to continue helping her search for the most beautiful prom dress in the store.

As Zelda was walking away, she bumped into yet another person, and she instantly backed away from them. Looking up, her blue eyes met with honey-colored ones, ones that held kindness and a hint of fear. Those eyes belonged to a red Zora girl; red Zora's were a rarity among Hyrule, and Zelda had never seen someone like this girl in her entire life. This Zora wore lots of jewelry on her body, silvery designs with blue and green jewels embedded into them, a style that most Zora woman took.

The girl looked incredibly nervous, but she smiled anyway. Her lips began to move, and Zelda desperately wished she could hear. This girl looked kindhearted.

The Zora girl's eyes widened at the realization, but was quickly overtaken with a newfound joy. " _Do you speak this language?_ " she asked in sign language, shocking Zelda at first.

" _Yes_ ," Zelda quickly signed back, smile erupting on her face. " _I didn't know you could_."

A smile spread across her small, pink lips. " _My name is Mipha. One of my friends was like you, so I learned sign language a long time ago for_ _them_ _. What a coincidence that we met_ _!_ "

Zelda didn't know how to properly react, leaving her just smiling with joy at Mipha. The red Zora chuckled a bit.

" _Are you looking for a dress, too?_ " Mipha questioned to the brunette, and Zelda immediately nodded after processing the signs.

Mipha grinned again. " _So am I_ _..._ _I don't think I'll have a date to the prom_ _, though—wait,_ _you go to Hyrule High, correct?_ " she asked, and Zelda nodded.

" _I'm pretty sure I'll be going alone, too_ ," Zelda said, " _but, my friend and I just want to experience this event before high school is over_ _. It'd be fun to do it now, and in the future, too._ "

" _You guys have the same motives as me_ ," Mipha signed with a happy expression gracing her face. " _I did find a rack with some_ _pretty_ _dresses, if you want to follow me_."

Zelda already had taken a liking to this Mipha girl, so she obediently followed the Zora, stopping at a specific rack of dresses that, indeed, contained much prettier dresses than the others in this store. Or, just dresses that Zelda felt suited her style well.

Mipha grabbed a blue laced dress, one that had no sleeves and sparkled all over. She showed it off to Zelda. " _This is the one I've picked out. Do you think it'd look well on me?_ " she signed her question, placing the blue dress over her body.

A smile danced on Zelda's face and she nodded. " _I think it suits you well_."

As Mipha smiled, she searched through the racks of dresses and pulled out a random yellow dress. It seemed to be made out of the same material as the dress Mipha had chosen for herself, but only it was yellow, obviously. The dress had one sleeve to go over one shoulder, and a circular part to go around the neck and hold most of the dress up.

" _I thought this one stood out to me_ ," Mipha stated, handing the dress to Zelda. " _I think it would suit you well, but it's entirely up to you. What are you going to do?_ "

As Zelda was trying to come up with her answer, Midna suddenly appeared behind the brunette girl. She managed to spook her best friend, making Zelda turn around abruptly at Midna's brief, sudden touch. Midna was only laughing, which died down when she saw Mipha.

" _Who's this?_ " Midna signed towards Zelda, and Mipha cleared her throat, causing Midna too look back at her.

"My name is Mipha," she said to Midna, not bothering to sign. "I can also speak sign language, mind you. I'm assuming you're this girl's friend."

Midna glanced at Zelda and nodded. "Her name is Zelda, and I'm Midna," she said.

"Zelda...Midna...what beautiful names," Mipha said with her honey-like voice.

Suddenly, Zelda nodded and looked back up at Mipha. " _I really do love this dress. I'm going to pick this one_ _—_ _thank you for helping me find this_ ," she signed.

" _It's no problem_ ," Mipha replied to Zelda, then looking back up at her tall friend. "Zelda said you were both looking for dresses. Do you need help?"

Although Midna didn't want to have anyone's help, she also didn't want to spend her entire Saturday cooped up in this crowded store. So, she nodded a bit hesitantly, watching carefully as Mipha precisely selected the utmost perfect dress for Midna. Her hands graced over a strapless, orange colored dress. Mipha pulled it off the rack, a bit surprised to see how elegantly this dress flowed so wavy-like at the ends. She smiled slightly, showing off the dress to Midna.

By far, this was the only good dress Midna had seen in this entire store. She took if from Mipha's hands, gingerly, nodding when she could hold it.

"I like this one," Midna replied. "Thank you for helping us. Are you going to prom? Which school do you go to?"

Mipha laughed a bit at Midna's frantic questions. "I am going to prom, at Hyrule High, like you guys are. I'm probably not going to have a date, but Zelda said the same thing for both of you guys."

"That is true," Midna nodded. "How about this, Mipha—you can hang out with Zelda and I from now on. You seem like a chill person, plus you can actually communicate with Zelda here. And then at prom, you can hang with us as well. Sound cool?"

Midna was utterly shocked to see tears glazing over Mipha's honey colored eyes, tears that the red Zora girl managed to contain. Zelda noticed those tears, placing a comforting hand on Mipha's shoulder.

"You okay?" Midna asked. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"No, no, I'm perfectly fine," Mipha choked out in between her tears. She smiled. " _I'm very happy, that's why I'm crying. I just started going to this school at the beginning of tenth grade, and I've_ _—_ _honestly_ _—_ _been alone, aside from forcing myself to hang out with my cousin, Ruto._ _Sidon is too busy being popular_ ," she transferred to sign language to say all of these words to the two in front of her. " _I guess you could say I was pretty lonely, so_ _—_ _thank you for being so kind to me_."

Both Midna and Zelda smiled at their new friend, giving her a brief hug to comfort the girl's happy tears. Once Mipha had stopped crying so happily, they all paid for their respective dresses, passing by Ruto and Lana as they left the stores.

Mipha parted ways with her two new friends in the parking lot, making her way to her own car and jumping into the driver's seat. As she shoved her keys into the keyhole and started up her car, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt a rush of happiness like that. Things were always fine until tenth grade, after she and her family moved from Zora's Domain to Central Hyrule. It was a tough move, and Mipha was fine the whole way, but just felt incredibly lonely at school.

Silently thanking her goddess, Hylia, Mipha began to drive back home.


	26. Twenty-Six

_Goddesses_ , Link couldn't even believe himself after he had done this. Even though their last date was in January, he still felt a little sheepish about asking Zelda _again_.

Link was surprised that she even agreed to another lousy date with someone such as himself. But, another part of him was eternally grateful for Zelda and how she put up with him. The thought that maybe she actually enjoyed these outings with him did cross his mind, but he never bothered to consider them true.

Link was especially worried for their third date this afternoon. It was Saturday again, and this was one of the days that Telma worked part-time at that specific coffee shop—Hyrule Coffee, he discovered its name.

His first experience at that coffee shop with Telma was utterly embarrassing in many ways, but this time he had come mentally prepared. Now knowing most of sign language would make this date easier for him to talk to Zelda face-to-face. The only catch was that he wasn't very fluent, still, but he knew enough. Besides, he did fine when he was over at Zelda's house. _Yeah, yeah, all is well_.

With a sigh escaping his lips and forming a puff of wispy smoke in the cold, end-of-March air, Link begrudgingly entered the coffee shop when he saw no sign of Zelda and only Telma.

Sitting down at the table they had chosen last time, Link decided to not chat with Telma until he really had to—which would be when he ordered their coffees. Until that moment came, he would wait for Zelda to arrive.

Rather late, Zelda hastily entered the coffee shop with freckles of snow decorating her brown locks, the cold weather making her nose and the tips of her ears a reddish color. Her eyelashes held small particles of the small, glittering grains of snow, and when she batted them in the warmer environment, they melted in an instant.

Still, even with her tangled hair and the scarf that was slung halfway over her head, Link still thought she looked pretty. A wistful smile grew on his face as she hurriedly sat down in the seat ahead of him, still shivering slightly and removing the scarf from her head. Taking off her gloves, the warm air surrounded her once cold skin and provided her relief from her shivering.

Link sat his phone down, feeling a bit unusual talking to her like this in such a setting. He started simply, " _Hello_ ," is what he signed.

Zelda finally smiled for the first time since she had entered the coffee shop. " _Hi_ ," she greeted.

Footsteps approached the table, and only Link looked up, only to be disappointed when he saw Telma standing there with a cheeky grin on her face. It's not that he hated her—Telma was a lovely woman and she helped him immensely with just about everything—but when he didn't need her help, she could be, well, annoying.

"Greetings," Link greeted her sarcastically. "Please tell me you're just here to take our orders."

Telma nodded simply, placing both hands on her hips as Zelda finally looked at her. " _What would you like, Zelda?_ " she asked the girl in questioning.

Zelda quickly took her order, Link ordering the exact same thing, since they had a similar taste in coffees. Telma did walk away eventually, and Link knew he had only precious time to talk to Zelda alone.

" _Are you still playing that game I bought you last year?_ " he asked, the question alone making Zelda's eyes light up.

" _Of course_." Zelda rolled her eyes. " _I've already finished it...five times? I think it's five. I'm playing it for the sixth time now and all I can say is that I need help_."

Link laughed a bit at her response. " _I'd like to try that game out at least once. Maybe I can_ _—_ "

Zelda made an "ooh!" sound, clapping her hands together. " _You could come to my place over the summer_ _—_ _I'll let you try it then_." Her excitement calmed down, though, as she began to feel a bit embarrassed over her reaction.

" _That'd be cool_ ," Link signed. " _I'm sure my parents would be fine with it._ "

" _Same here. We can schedule something_ _—_ " Zelda cut her signs short when Telma came back with two piping hot coffees in hand, placing them gently atop the table they sat at.

"Cool, thanks," Link quickly thanked her, trying so hard to give her the hint that he would like to be left alone with Zelda. Before he could protest any further, though, he suddenly had to go to the bathroom.

Embarrassingly, he stood up with the tips of his ears turning a red color. " _Bathroom_ ," he signed, rushing off towards the restroom. His only fear was that Telma would decide to stay around and chat with Zelda.

A smirk appearing on her lips, this is exactly what Telma decided to do. She sat down where Link had sat before her.

" _What do you think of Link?_ " she signed.

Zelda grew a bit antsy at her question. " _Link? Oh, he's a nice friend_ _—_ "

" _Zelda, honey, I can tell by your eyes that you're in love with him_ ," Telma cut her off short, only making the teenager in front of her blush.

" _Why do you care so much about how we feel towards each other?_ " Zelda suddenly asked. " _I mean...I appreciate the cute things you told me about him in January_ _—_ "

" _You just admitted that he's cute_."

" _I'm pretty sure_ _lots of people think that_ ," Zelda signed with an obvious look on her face. She sighed, returning to the main topic. " _So, why do you care about how I feel towards him? Or how he feels about_ me?"

Telma just smiled. " _I'm not going to say things Link wouldn't want me to say about him, but I've grown to care about that idiot. I've only known him for a year, as I am his therapist, and I care very much about his happiness and such_."

" _That's great and all, but what do I have to do with this?_ " Zelda asked.

" _Honey, he always talks about how happy you make him_ ," Telma said, " _and that he is very grateful for you and all his other friends_."

" _That could be in a friendly way, too, you know_ ," Zelda chimed in with her signs, then crossing her arms over her chest.

Telma exhaled a sigh. " _I'll just say that you should keep him in your life. He's a good kid, but I'm sure you know that_." Zelda just nodded, eternally grateful when she saw Link return to the table.

He groaned in annoyance when he laid eyes on Telma—sitting in his seat. Urgently, she moved away from the chair, allowing Link to sit back down.

"What were you telling her this time?" Link immediately asked after sitting down.

"Nothing," Telma replied. "Can't I just chat casually with her?"

"I feel like you're lying."

"You don't trust me?"

"I—I do, but—just—never mind."

Telma rolled her eyes at him, walking back behind the counter, only to be greeted by a new customer who just entered the shop.

Zelda smiled sheepishly at Link, trying to ignore everything that Telma had confronted her about. She knew good and well that she liked Link, but would she go as far as to say she _loved_ him? Love was a very passionate and strong word. Shaking the words from her head, she regained her relaxed composure.

" _What was Telma talking to you about?_ " Link asked out of the blue—well, she expected him to ask something like that, so it wasn't really out of the blue.

She bit her lip, trying to think of a good way to put her answer into words. " _I'd rather not talk about it_."

" _C'mon_ ," Link begged. " _You don't have to tell me everything, just a basic explanation of what you guys talked about_."

" _Link, I don't want to share that with you_ ," Zelda said. " _I promise, it had nothing to do with you_."

Link always believed Zelda's words, but this time he didn't know whether or not he should. " _Whatever_ ," he said with a flat expression.

" _Anyways, let's talk about something interesting_." Zelda wanted to restart this conversation on a better topic. " _I remember you like writing. Have you written anything since our last_..." She couldn't get herself to sign the word "date."

Link shrugged. " _Not really. Before our_ date," he signed it so effortlessly, " _I did write something, but I haven't had the motivation to write since_."

"Oh," Zelda drawled out, thinking of what to say next. " _What did you write about? Was it a poem, a story?_ " Her eyes had grown giddy with excitement.

" _A poem_ ," he answered simply, not furthering his answer.

" _What was it about?_ " Zelda inquired. " _If I had the ability to write, imagine the words my hands could create! I could write about fairies and meadows and_ _—_ _oh! I could write about the legends of Hyrule!_ "

Link could only smile thoughtfully at her giddiness, finding it absolutely adorable how her eyes lit up and her cheeks became a rosy red color when she became excited.

With a sheepish grin, she calmed herself down, trying not to delve too deep into her writing fantasies. " _Sorry. What was your poem about, though?_ "

" _Eh, nothing important_ ," he answered with a dull look on his face. " _Just me rambling about...stuff_."

" _Hm, sounds interesting_ ," she replied, her smirk looking incredibly sarcastic as she signed.

" _But you can draw, Zelda!_ " Link suddenly signed with glowing eyes. " _You can draw fairies and meadows, even the legends of Hyrule._ "

" _Oh, I would, but I can't draw scenery very well_ ," Zelda said with disappointment in her eyes. " _I wish I could. All I can draw is people, and only females. Drawing dudes is hard..._ "

" _Have you ever tried to draw a guy?_ "

" _Twice. Both were terrible; anyone could've mistaken it for a monster, I'm sure_."

" _I think not_ ," he said. " _I bet all of your drawings are good_."

" _I'm flattered, but I'll have to disagree_." Zelda placed her over her heart, a dramatic look on her face.

" _I beg to differ. I've seen your art! You're so talented, Zelda!_ " Link signed, his eyes exclaiming those words without them actually being said.

Zelda chuckled. " _Definitely not_."

" _Definitely yes_."

" _No_."

" _Yes_."

" _No_."

" _Yes_."

" _No_."

" _Yes_."

" _Are you an idiot?_ "

" _Yes_." Link slapped his hands down when he signed his agreement to her question on instinct, only making Zelda laugh her bubbly laugh. The laugh where her hand covered part of her mouth, nose crinkling up at the slightest and her cheeks turning that rosy red color again.

 _How can one person be so utterly flawless?_ Link thought angrily to himself as his cheeks flushed.

They realized how the hours had passed by, resulting in this third date of theirs lasting as long as the others.

Patting her chest and recovering from her laughter, Zelda stood up and wrapped her scarf around her neck firmly. Link stood up next, walking Zelda outside and in to the cold March air. The wind had increasingly grown stronger during the time they spent sheltered inside, making the bitterness of this weather even worse.

Zelda put her gloves on successfully this time, already feeling her nose run due to how cold it was. Fixating her earmuffs on her head, she waved a goodbye to Link and was on her way. She ran over to her car and opened the door, closing it and driving off.

With every breath he made, a white cloud emerged and showcased the carbon dioxide he had exhaled. He walked back inside the coffee shop, sitting back down at the table. He hadn't finished his coffee, and he had walked here this time, so walking home in the cold while drinking his coffee would be very unpleasant, he imagined.

Staring aimlessly into the void of his coffee, he remembered something very important. He still had to ask Zelda to prom, and that day was approaching rapidly—quicker than Link had thought.

How would he even do that, though? Just asking her to hang out with him was hard enough, but asking her to _prom_? It was simply unimaginable.

However, he knew that asking her would be the right thing to do. After all, attending prom alone would be no fun—or not attending at all. Staying home and doing absolutely nothing for prom again wouldn't be a wise choice.

Glancing to his left, he saw that Telma was still here. It looked like she was getting ready to leave for today, and Link wouldn't be able to see her until next week during his counseling session.

Standing up, he grabbed his half-empty cup of coffee and walked up to Telma. She was a bit surprised to see him talking to her, after how upset he had become from her interrupting his date.

"This is just a quick question," Link began, "so, do not overdo the answer. I just need help."

"Hm. Now what do you need my help with?" she asked.

This made him feel a bit guilty, but her voice held a hint of jokiness to it. "I want to ask Zelda to prom—I've told you this—and I don't know how I should."

Telma thought about it for a second. "I don't really know how to help. I know it seems nerve wracking to do such a thing, but you got this. She'll most likely say yes, anyway, I guarantee you that."

"Okay, but how should I ask her?" he inquired again.

"Don't overdo it. Just simply ask her when it's just you two," Telma said, walking towards the door. Link followed after her.

"And that's all the advice I can offer you," she said, then waved a sweet goodbye to him. "Take care!"

Link waved half heartedly back, his hand dropping back to his side when she disappeared from his sight. Staring down at his coffee again, he decided to just leave. The snow had seemed to calm down a bit in just the short amount of time he had stayed here.

Exiting the coffee shop, he saw Telma getting picked up by someone. Curiosity took over him, and he managed to snag a glance of the person driving the car. Midna.

Why was Midna here? They could be related, possibly. Telma had mentioned her wonderful niece frequently at times.

Deciding not to intervene or get noticed by either of them, Link put the lid back on his coffee and carefully ran down the sidewalks, trying to get home as soon as possible.

When he did, he was greeted with Aryll and another girl with blonde hair playing together.

"Aryll," Link greeted her, and his little sister perked up at his voice.

She waved. "Oh, hi Link! You must be wondering who my friend is—this is Tetra!"

The other girl, who Link assumed was Tetra, looked over her shoulder at Aryll's older brother.

"Hello," she said a bit awkwardly, beginning to blush and turn back around.

Aryll rolled her eyes. "Tetra! Why does everyone think my brother is hot, including you? He's disgusting!"

"Thank you," Link mumbled, taking off his coat and hanging it up on one of the coat racks. He removed his earmuffs, the blue scarf he wore, and the brown mittens on his hands, putting them back where they belonged.

He walked over into the living room and jumped on the couch.

"I didn't say he was hot!" Tetra exclaimed, sitting the doll she was using on the floor. "Don't accuse me of stupid things like that."

"Your face says otherwise!" Aryll triumphed, raising her fists in the air, and then lowering them.

Tetra looked humiliated.

"I'm sorry," Aryll quickly apologized, hugging her friend after finishing her words. "I just don't understand how people think this—this _creature_ is attractive." She eyed her older brother.

"I don't know how anyone thinks you're 'adorable,'" Link retorted, sitting up from the couch. "You're far from it."

Aryll squinted her eyes. "Keep one eye open when you sleep tonight."

Link just shut up after that.


	27. Twenty-Seven

Anyone who was attending prom at Hyrule High had chosen this very day to ask out their dates. Joy was abundant in the school's building. Almost every single student was wearing a smile on their face, or asking their date to prom.

However, Zelda was one of few that felt too nervous to ask someone out to prom. She had originally planned on asking Link, but goddesses, she was far too cowardly to do such a simple thing. Waiting was her only resort, and if nobody asked her to the dance, she would just go with Midna and their newfound friend, Mipha.

It had been awhile since the two girls encountered Mipha in the mall, where the red Zora girl helped them find the perfect prom dresses, even one for herself. And ever since that day, the three girls had been hanging out. Mipha felt included and appreciated for once in her life, and she would never take this for granted.

While Zelda was pondering over how today would play out during French class, as per usual, Mipha was taking a restroom break. She had gotten permission from her biology teacher to use the restroom, but in actuality this was just an escape from class for a few minutes.

During her time socializing with Zelda and Midna, Mipha had discovered a couple of things about her two new friends. She did consider them friends, despite how many times she lead herself to believe they thought differently. She was happy and that was all that mattered.

Back to what she was originally thinking, she recalled some things Midna had mentioned to her. Midna told Mipha one day that Zelda had fallen head over heels for Link, somebody even a social outcast like Mipha knew. He was well known in the school, only for his looks, though—nothing else. Just from observing Link from afar, she had developed a tiny crush on him. She hated herself for it, but it just happened.

Mipha had talked to him about three times during her time here, and each and every time he was so genuine and nice. They really only discussed their interests those times, their only common one being writing. Mipha told Link of her works and everything she had written, while he did the same thing.

It was nice to know that there were still humane people out there; people like Zelda, Midna, and Link.

Taking the fact that Zelda loved Link into consideration was difficult for Mipha, for she liked him as well, as aforementioned. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared directly towards her reflection in the mirror, just observing, but discreetly trying to spot out any of her flaws.

Going to prom with her crush would be a dream, but Mipha knew that Zelda would have a better chance of getting that opportunity. Besides, she didn't have the courage to ask him, and Zelda probably didn't either.

Mipha cared for herself, but she always found herself caring more about her friend's wellbeing than her own. She decided that it would make her happy if Zelda got to attend prom with the person she loved.

Midna would surely tag along with her, anyway, since the orange haired girl didn't have an interest in anyone at this school.

The red Zora girl smiled to herself, hearing somebody else enter the ladies restroom. With an embarrassed blush on her cheeks, she pretended like she was just leaving the restroom. Slipping by the girl who entered, she began to pace back to her classroom before Miss Urbosa became furious. It was very easy for anyone, even the kindest of souls, to anger such a woman.

Mipha didn't want to take any chances.

••

Class was interesting for Link. He happened to be in the same class as Mipha, who sat beside a male, red Zora who bore a resemblance to her—Link remembered that his name was Sidon. It was nothing between Mipha and Link, it was their teacher.

"Today, Mrs. Fi will be helping me teach the class," Ghirahim announced proudly, patting the blue haired woman beside him atop her fluffy head.

Fi smiled at the slightest. "Indeed."

"Wait! Who's she? Why is she helping teach the class?" a Rito girl named Medli asked frantically.

Ghirahim rolled his eyes. "I just said—her name is Mrs. Fi, but just call her Fi if you want."

"Is she your friend or something?" Riju questioned.

"No. She is my wife."

The entire class gasped, everyone was wearing shocked expressions of some kind.

"Mr. Ghirahim? _Married_?!" a blonde haired girl named Ilia exclaimed. She began to laugh afterwards. "That's unimaginable!"

"It's true!" Ghirahim yelled, presenting his hand to the entire classroom and pointing at the very obvious ring on his promise finger. "I am married!"

"That's just stupid," Riju muttered, an amused expression playing on her face.

"Mrs. Fi! Why did you marry someone like Mr. Ghirahim?" Ilia asked urgently.

Fi blinked, giving her a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I fell in love with him."

"He's a weirdo."

"He yells a lot."

"I thought he was gay?"

"I am!" Ghirahim interrupted the random student.

"But—But Fi's—"

"My foolish husband swings both ways," Mrs. Fi concluded, silencing that argument.

A few whispers were heard amongst the students, before someone said:

"I'd say he's more in love with himself than with you, probably."

"Class! Shut up!" Ghirahim exclaimed, his angry expression somehow becoming even more menacing. Despite how quickly he slammed his fists down on his desk, his white hair managed to keep its place so perfectly, with only one strand disconnecting from the rest.

Fi sighed. "This was a bad idea, I told you."

"Yes, but—how was I supposed to know?" Ghirahim questioned, sitting down at his desk and covering his face with both hands. "This job is going to be the end of my sanity."

"When were you ever sane?" Sidon retorted with such a suave look on his face. Most of the females in the class swooned at him just speaking, while Mr. Ghirahim gave Sidon the scariest look anyone had ever seen on the man's face.

"You shall get so much homework tonight as punishment!" Ghirhaim suddenly yelled. "Do all of chapter twenty-eight, _all_ of it!"

A collective group of sighs rung throughout the classroom, the sounds of students pulling out their algebra II books commencing soon after.

Link wished his classmates could just shut their mouths most of the time - it wasn't a hard task, and whenever they were all quiet, nothing bad happened. How was it that hard to learn such a simple rule? Don't talk. It's not that complicated.

"That was exciting," Mipha muttered under her breath, causing Link to glance her way and chuckle a bit.

Mipha just blushed—Link had noticed her for the fourth time, if she could remember correctly. It wasn't something to be truly proud of, but it was something.

She smiled through her homework, despite how much she wished her life could end right now. So much work and so little patience is what she had.

••

School had just ended, and this was a time for even more students to ask out their dates to prom. Everywhere she looked, Zelda could only see girls swooning over their dates or hugging them after being accepted.

She rolled her eyes a bit, not even thinking twice that she could possibly be in that situation as well.

As she made her way out of school, she spotted Mipha leaning against one of the walls. A smile graced her face as she approached her friend.

Zelda waved a bit at Mipha, causing the Zora to wave back and smile a bit.

The two girls decided to go outside and chat, instead of having to witness sappy couples in the hallways. They retreated outside of the school, both sitting on a random and empty bench near the baseball field.

" _Are you asking anyone to prom?_ " Zelda signed to Mipha, and the girl in questioning had already feared someone would eventually ask her this question.

" _Nope_ ," Mipha replied simply, brushing off any sense of hurt she felt.

Zelda nodded. " _I want to ask someone, but I'm too nervous to_."

 _I already know who_ , Mipha almost signed aloud to her friend, but she contained her words.

Just as she thought this, Link had exited the school and aimlessly made his way over to the baseball field. He sat down on one of the benches near the grates, pulling out some paper and a textbook, plus a pencil. While he was doing his work, not very productively, he watched the baseball team practice for their big game at the end of the school year.

Zelda bit her lip when she saw him, one half of her heart urging herself to stand up and go ask Link to prom, while the other half of her heart begged her to just stay where she was. One half was free and the other part was asleep, to put it in a metaphorical way.

Mipha noticed the look in Zelda's eyes. Instead of feeing any sort of negativity towards such a kind friend, Mipha smiled and patted Zelda's shoulder.

" _You should go ask him_ ," Mipha signed once she caught Zelda's attention.

Zelda's eyes widened in fear. " _Oh, no no no. I can't do that!_ "

Something made Mipha want to vent to Zelda about this love problem of hers—to tell her friend about how she liked Link as well, and desperately wished she had enough courage to ask him to prom. Or to even just chat with him in general. But, she knew that telling her about her crush on Link would only make Zelda feel guilty of her actions. Mipha didn't want her friend to feel that way just because of her. So, she kept her mouth shut. Encouraging her silently would be the best route to take, she thought.

" _At least go and talk to him_ ," Mipha suggested, playfully rolling her eyes. " _You can do that, right?_ "

The brunette exhaled. " _I don't know_."

" _You don't have to ask him right now_ ," the red Zora said, " _but you should go and hang out with him_."

Zelda chuckled. " _I'd rather hang out with you, Mipha_."

Suddenly, Mipha stood up abruptly from her seat, standing in front of Zelda. " _Both of us_ _know that's a lie_ ," she signed with a sly look. " _Go and talk to him_."

With mock annoyance, Zelda stood up and began to walk in the direction of where Link was seated. From behind, Mipha just watched her friend with happiness in her heart. There was sorrow in there as well, but she felt more happiness towards her friend's wellbeing.

Her honey colored eyes watched Zelda until she sat down beside Link, and then Mipha began to walk away. Coincidentally, she met up with Midna just as she was leaving the scene. Excitedly, the red Zora girl began to inform Midna of what she had convinced Zelda to do, and what may follow because of it.

Meanwhile, Zelda was just staring at her feet while Link finished writing a paper for his literature class. Once he finished that, he began to put all his academical supplies away.

Then, he faced Zelda.

A wave of courage seemed to have washed over his mind, because he felt even more confident than ever now. He wanted to ask Zelda if she would like to attend prom with him. Link knew good and well that he wouldn't even go otherwise, because, what was the purpose if he would be alone?

Catching her attention, he collected all the courage he had in his body in this very moment, lifting his hands up to sign the important question.

" _Zelda_ ," he started simply, and Zelda just gave him an even more expecting look.

 _Goddesses, don't do that_ , he wanted to say.

" _Will you go to prom with me?_ " he signed the question. Link noticed that he found it easier to ask such questions in sign language. Since he didn't have to verbally speak, not a shred of nervousness could clog up his throat and prevent him from speaking. It was only his will that could hold him back, and he had quite a lot right now.

Without even thinking about it, Zelda immediately nodded in response. One of the happiest smiles he had ever seen on her face stuck there, and she resisted the ever so strong urge to kiss him.

She really wanted to, even after all this time. But, this moment felt like it would be the wrong moment to do such a thing.

Instead, she just admired the cute little grin that formed on his lips, and then she hugged him.

Zelda was feeling one of those feelings whenever you see something so ridiculously adorable that you just _have_ to hug it, or just squeeze it out of love.

Link just internally laughed a little bit at her actions, wrapping his own arms around her and holding her as tight as she was holding him.

 _This is so, so perfect_ , Zelda kept thinking, over and over.

••

Link arrived home about an hour after what occurred on the school grounds, near the baseball field. As he entered his home, he kicked off his tennis shoes and threw his puffy winter coat on one of the hangers. It was only March, but the bitter weather never seemed to cease. He loved the cold, so it was partially in his favor.

Entering the kitchen, he was greeted with Aryll accidentally pouring milk all over the counter. Link's eyes widened at the sudden mishap, as he raced over to his little sister and snatched the milk carton from her hands.

Looking at the messy counter, he saw that there was a bowl of _Fruit Loops_ sitting there. Poor Aryll's aim with the milk was way off, and she ended up dumping the entire thing on the counter.

With fear, Link watched a drop of milk smack the floors, and Aryll felt like she was going to cry.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I just stood up—like, really fast, y'know?—and my head started feeling dizzy, and stupid me decided to still pour the milk into the bowl. I'm sorry!"

Link sighed, sitting the carton of milk on a different counter and finding its green lid, screwing it back on there.

"It's not a big deal," he said calmly. "We can clean this up. Where are mom and dad?"

Aryll sniffed. "Upstairs. I asked if I could make my own dinner for once, and they were kinda skeptical on the idea of that, but they let me do it anyway. I want to be able to do something by myself, but apparently I can't!"

"Have they even eaten dinner?" Link asked.

"Oh, no," she replied. "They said they'd be back down shortly to prepare dinner for you and themselves. They said if I failed I could still eat dinner, of course."

"Well, if they're coming back down in a second, shouldn't we clean this all up?" Link suggested, wearing an overly-happy grin on his face.

As he was grabbing handfuls of paper towels, Aryll squinted her eyes at her older brother.

"You seem happy," she commented, watching as he approached the mess with the towels. "What's gotten into you?"

Smacking down the paper towels on the counter, the stupid grin wouldn't leave his face. "Nothing," he replied in that annoying tone—well, a tone Aryll could not stand.

"Tell me what happened!" she exclaimed, then grabbing the tips of his Hylian ears and barely pulling them. Link winced in pain and smacked her hand away.

"Your ears are red! You're lying, you piece of trash!" Aryll yelled, grabbing her own paper towels and contributing to the mess she created.

"You're the piece of trash, if anything," Link retorted with a confident grin, and Aryll resisted the urge to attack her brother.

"Why is it so hard to tell me what's making you act like this?" Aryll questioned him. "I'm not gonna tell anyone else. Can't your little sister be a little curious?"

"When have I ever asked you stuff like this?" Link inquired his younger sister.

"Lots of times!"

"Name one."

"How am I supposed to remember things that happened years ago?!"

"Then you have no proof."

"Just tell me!" Aryll screamed in her loudest voice, startling Link a bit that he even jumped.

"Okay, whatever," he breathed out. "Once I tell you, hopefully you understand the reason why I didn't want to tell you at first—I asked Zelda to prom—"

Aryll squealed, scrunching some of the paper towels up when she grabbed them. Walking towards the trash can, she pointed at it.

"Look, it's you," she sneered, confident with her comeback to their small argument.

"I thought we were done fighting," Link commented.

"Oh, we are, I was just reminding you of what you truly are," Aryll chided. "Anyways, I'm actually really happy for you, Link! I know about your anxiety and stuff, so good job doing this."

A bashful look was strewn across Link's face after receiving that _compliment_ , of some kind, from his beloved little sister.

Just as Link was about to thank Aryll, both of their parents had walked downstairs and gasped at the puddle of milk on the counter.

"It was Aryll, I swear!" Link exclaimed, that being the first words he had to say.

"Aryll, just let us make you dinner," Father said tiredly, slowly walking up to the counter and laying his eyes on the dry bowl of cereal. "Besides, you can't have cereal for dinner."

"I _could_ ," Aryll commented under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Link just sighed, throwing away the paper towels he had brought out to help her.

Then, he smiled randomly—he thought of Zelda again.

This was something that confused his parents, but also brought joy to their hearts.

Link felt like he was finally getting better.

He knew that would eventually change, though.


	28. Twenty-Eight

Tonight was the fateful night of prom. With worry evident in her eyes, Zelda stared at her dress, not daring to put it on just yet.

A sigh escaped her lips, and she began to regret even deciding to attend prom this year. True, she was going with Link, which was a dream come true in her case, but still...another part of her didn't want to go at all, despite how lucky she had gotten with her date.

Nonetheless, she had to go now. Disappointing her friends and even her date would be even worse than sheltering herself from the outside world, so she began to undress out of her casual attire.

It was a Saturday night, perfect for the students to attend the dance without any interruptions. On Zelda's behalf, she had nothing to do tonight, but then again, she rarely left her house, anyways.

After undressing, she struggled to put on the gorgeous yellow colored dress that Mipha had helped pick out three weeks ago at the mall. She had finished getting into her outfit, immediately looking in the mirror at her appearance. There was a lot to be done to finish off her look, but for once in her life, Zelda felt confident and beautiful. Wistfully, she skipped out of her room and into her bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush and brushing her teeth briskly.

She had already taken a shower just hours before, and if she took one now, Zelda knew good and well she'd spend too much time drying her hair. It was always a painful task to dry that thick hair of hers, making the amount of time she spent blow drying it a whopping twenty minutes.

With the task of brushing her teeth being completed, she grabbed her hairbrush and brushed out any tangles and knots in her hair. Grabbing necessary ponytails and bobby pins, she attempted to tie her hair up in a fancy, wavy bun for this occasion, but was failing miserably in her task.

Concluding this, she ran downstairs and asked her mother for help. Zelda felt a bit embarrassed doing this, but she really couldn't get the bun to look nice and the way she wanted.

Luck was on her side, favoring her hair tonight and allowing it to look even fancier than she had intended. Mother was very talented in doing her hair—she always had been, and Zelda was thankful for that.

Thanking her mother with a smile, Zelda closed her bathroom door again and opened the drawer that held her small collection of makeup. She didn't have any designer makeup or all the popular ones, but just simple lipstick and such.

Doing her own makeup was a very hard task for her, as she rarely put much on everyday, compared to most of the people at Hyrule High. They could enjoy whatever they wanted, but Zelda occasionally felt left out whenever they were decked out in well-done makeup, while she only sported mascara and such.

Finishing her makeup rather quickly—and still managing to make it look nice, and not messy—she zoomed out of her bathroom and returned to her bedroom for a moment.

Grabbing her phone, she began to frantically text Midna and Mipha in their tiny group chat on the messaging app, asking them if they needed to be picked up or anything.

Tapping anxiously on her bedside table, Midna was the first to reply to her question.

Midna: lol nope

Midna: I got my own car remember

Zelda: I know you loser

Zelda: I just thought it'd be fun if we all drove there together in my car or something

Mipha: hi friends

Midna: oh

Midna: what do u think about this mipha-kun

Mipha: don't...don't do that

Mipha: anyways, I think it'd be fun if we did that. I can ask my dad if you're allowed to pick me up, he'll probably say yes.

Zelda: oh goody

Zelda: mipha-kun

Mipha: can you _NOT_

Neither of her friends answered for a good four minutes, but when they did, Zelda immediately read their texts.

Mipha: ok! my dad said yes to this so just pick me up in like five minutes I'm feelin glamorous and stuff 😎

Midna: my parents are cool with it too, just come by my place in five minutes you raddish

Zelda: ok

Zelda: no need for insults

With a smile on her face, Zelda turned off her phone and grabbed her purse. She never really used this purse, since she always had a pocket of some sort to store her phone in, but with this dress she didn't have that advantage. Putting her phone into the brown, leather bag, she left her room and trotted downstairs.

" _Leaving already?_ " Father signed to Zelda, with a sympathetic smile on his face.

Zelda just nodded, grabbing three ibuprofens and taking them—it was her time of the month, and her insides were producing excruciatingly painful cramps.

" _Who are you going with again?_ " Mother signed the question, just entering the kitchen. " _Isn't it...that one guy who came here once? What was his name...Flink-_ "

" _Link_ ," Zelda briefly signed, briskly hugging both of her parents with a grin on her face.

"Aw," Mother cooed aloud, and although Zelda couldn't hear her, she knew exactly what her mom was doing. Pink dust was lightly painted across her cheeks.

" _Is he picking you up, or...?_ " Father asked.

" _No_ ," Zelda said simply. " _He said we could just meet up there. Besides, I'm going to be picking up Midna and Mipha; I'm taking them there_."

Receiving her parents approval of this, Zelda grinned and began to make her way out of her home.

The moment she stepped outside, a splotch of rain hit the back of her hand. Zelda grumbled, walking back inside and grabbing an umbrella, returning to her car after that.

Closing the door and buckling her seatbelt, she began to wonder why the weather was like this currently. Just yesterday it was below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (zero in Celsius)—and it was snowing!—but now, the weather felt humid and it was going to rain soon.

Zelda had a tiny fear of driving in the rain. Praying to Hylia for her safety tonight, she turned on the car's engine and pulled out of her driveway. Driving out of her neighborhood, she made her way to Midna's house first, since she knew the location of that place so well.

As she pulled up to her best friend's house, a familiar girl with an orange dress scrambled out of her home, umbrella tightly held in her hands.

Midna rushed over to Zelda's car, popping open the door on the other side and plopping down into the passenger's seat. Before closing the door, Midna closed her umbrella and tried to shake some of the rainwater off of it, but that proved to be no help.

Zelda just grabbed the umbrella and sat it underneath Midna's feet, not really caring about how her car looked—besides, it was rainwater. It'd dry eventually.

Letting out a sigh, Midna closed the door and glanced at Zelda.

" _Aren't you excited?_ " Midna asked, noticing her friend's slightly fearful expression.

Zelda nodded tapped her fingers rhythmically on the steering wheel, trying to think of a suitable answer for her slight fear tonight. " _I hate driving in the rain_ ," she admitted. " _Plus, I'm kind of scared for what'll happen tonight_."

Midna raised an eyebrow. " _Why?_ "

" _I don't know. Anything could happen...that's why I'm nervous, I guess_ ," Zelda signed, putting her car back into drive and looking at the directions to Mipha's house.

They arrived there shortly, since apparently, Mipha lived in the same neighborhood that Midna did. Mipha's entrance was very similar to Midna's, holding her umbrella with all her might and dashing towards Zelda's car.

Jumping into the back seat, she closed her umbrella and breathed a sigh of relief.

" _Thank goodness my dress is okay_ ," she signed to both of her friends, staring at her blue dress, which she had expected to collect mud at the bottoms while running over here.

Zelda sped off again, now driving towards their school. As she drove, her mind thought more and more about the events that could possibly play out tonight. She had become a more positive person over time, but that didn't mean all her negative thoughts had been completely erased from her head. Tapping on the steering wheel a few more times, the huge streetlights blinded her as they pulled into the parking lot of their infamous school.

Worry filled her sapphire eyes once she laid them on the building, glancing at Midna and then at Mipha for some reassurance. They both seemed the least bit worried about all of this. In fact, they were conversing happily with each other, both wearing grins on their faces.

 _They don't have any dates, though_ , Zelda reminded herself, allowing her brain to calm down after realizing this. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that they didn't, but it explained their carefreeness tonight.

All the girls grabbed their umbrellas, warily stepping out into the now heavy rain. _What a dreary day to host prom_ , Zelda thought, wanting to stare up at the skies, but the fear of her mascara running prevented her from doing so.

They quickly ran up to the school's building, sighing in relief once they had gotten under a shelter from the rain. Other students were here as well, entering the building or recovering from the rain fiasco.

Midna and Mipha were already talking to each other, and Zelda cleared her throat to gain their attention.

She smiled. " _I'm going to wait for Link inside. You guys go on ahead_ ," she signed.

Her two friends stared dumbly at her for a few seconds, before nodding. Mipha began to walk into the building, however, Midna stayed behind with Zelda.

" _Good luck tonight_ ," Midna reassured her friend, gently patting her shoulder and making Zelda grin a bit.

" _Who knows? Maybe you guys will kiss_ _—_ "

" _How about you and Mipha, though? I see how you look at her,_ " Zelda tried to tease.

Midna blushed and shook her head. " _Oh, be quiet, you! Go have fun with your hot date_."

" _Shut up!_ " Zelda laughed at this, watching Midna zoom into the school to find Mipha again.

The wind was beginning to pick up, causing Zelda to shiver a bit. Attempting to cover her exposed skin up with her arms failed, so she just retreated into the school's building. The moment she entered, she was in a hallway with only a few students occupying it. It mainly consisted of lonely girls and boys waiting for something, or it was duos walking inside the auditorium—where prom was being held.

Taking a deep breath, Zelda made her way to the entrance of the party. Before she could set foot in the multi-colored room, her entire body froze and she could not move a muscle. It was definitely the feeling of anxiety clawing on her back, and Zelda wished she could use a magical spell of sorts to whisk away her worries. Unfortunately, whatever magic that could've existed in Hyrule was not hers, and she had no way of curing her anxiety.

Gathering up every ounce of courage she could scavenge from herself, Zelda slowly entered the center of the party. Everywhere, students were dancing along to whatever music was playing, something Zelda wished she could experience tonight. Nonetheless, she would still have fun, even if she couldn't dance properly like everyone else.

Slipping through the crowds of people, Zelda retreated to the corner of the room where the refreshments and snacks were being served on a long, white sheeted table. Even though there were bustles of students hanging around this area, she felt much more at ease when she wasn't in the middle of everything.

Crossing her arms over one another, it was now time to play the waiting game. When would Link arrive? That was the only question lingering in the back of Zelda's mind, which only increased her anxiety.

Out of nowhere, a familiar redhead popped up beside Zelda, holding a petite glass of red punch. Cocking her head to her left, Zelda was utterly disgusted when she saw that horrendous red pompadour that could _only_ belong to Groose.

" _Listen, Zelda_ ," Groose signed to her immediately after sitting his punch down on the nearby table. " _I need to talk to you. It's really important_ _—_ "

" _Groose, I've had enough of your act_ ," Zelda cut him off, anger evident in those sapphire eyes of hers. " _Haven't I made it obvious enough that I don't want to have a romantic relationship with you?_ "

Groose blinked a few times. " _I know that. That's what I wanna talk about, actually_."

" _I don't want to hear it_ ," Zelda signed, turning her heels and beginning to stomp off, but was quickly halted when Groose grabbed her wrist. She turned around abruptly, yanking her arm away from the red haired teen.

" _I don't like you anymore_ ," Groose stated the fact with a flat expression. " _I like someone else now. So, I'm not going to come after you every single day. I know you're happy with Link, but a certain someone doesn't seem to acknowledge that. I'm sorry for bothering you so much over these past few months_ _—I_ _hope you can forgive me_."

 _Lana_ , Zelda thought.

" _Well, I accept your apology_ ," Zelda said, a hopeful expression appearing on Groose's face.

" _Partially_ ," Zelda finished off, and his positive expression died down a bit.

" _Thanks, I guess_ ," Groose signed, seeing the blue haired devil out of the corner of his eye. She was glaring at him, shaking her head back and forth in a disapproving way.

Lana was forcing Groose to dance with Zelda, because if Zelda wasn't occupied with someone else, Link would end up dancing the night away with her. And Lana couldn't stand for that, evidently, and this was her only way to get Link to dance with her.

A sigh escaped Groose's lips, and he faced Zelda fully once more.

" _L_ _ana—_ _Lana wants me to do this, and if I back down, who knows what she could do?_ " Groose said, gesturing for Zelda to dance with him. " _Just for about five minutes_ _—_ _to make Lana happy_."

Zelda smirked. " _Do you like Lana?_ "

Shaking his head, Groose's face flushed up at Zelda's assumption. " _Definitely not_."

Rolling her eyes, she warily placed her hands in his and got into position. Groose led her out a bit farther into the brightly colored dance floors, only then beginning to dance with her.

Zelda avoided Groose's face the entire time, and he did the same thing as well. Neither of them were interested in doing this, but Groose was kind of forced into this act. Zelda felt some pity for him—why did Lana have to manipulate with him as if he was an object? She began to wonder why Groose had even fallen for Lana in the first place. She was cruel and sick, but, love is a weird thing and can work in such marveling, yet strange ways.

" _Groose, can this end, please?_ " Zelda hastily asked, giving him a desperate look.

Groose immediately nodded.

Before they removed their hands from one another, Link entered the room. All dressed in a fancy suit and hair slightly messy, he stared at Zelda and Groose as they waltzed together, a painful feeling of heartbreak stabbing his heart.

He knew he shouldn't overreact like this, but he couldn't help it. Zelda had happily agreed to attending this stupid dance with him, and now she was dancing with Groose?

Link had not been feeling very well during the time span of him asking Zelda to prom and now. He had been just fine the day after he asked her, but the next morning, that impending sadness returned. There was no major cause to his sudden depression, it just happened out of nowhere.

Typical, it always happened. But this time, Link had finally found so much hope that his happiness would not be short lived this time.

How wrong he was.

Lana bounced up to him, wearing a sparkly blue dress and with two pigtails in her hair. Link thought that she did stand out a bit, but nothing compared to the small glance of Zelda he had seen just seconds prior to now.

"Link! Let's dance!" she cheered, holding out her arms to him.

"Zelda—why is she..." Link breathed out, his heart hammering against his ribcage and his stomach twisting up in numerous, uncomfortable knots. Not the weird feeling he got around Zelda—definitely not, this was excruciating to live through.

"I don't know," Lana drawled out, obviously faking her sympathy towards this situation. "Just dance with me. If Zelda won't hang out with you tonight, then she isn't worthy of you."

Link choked on the very air he was breathing—how clumsy—and his head was racing with a million different thoughts.

Zelda let go of Groose's hands. " _I'll go fetch Lana for you_ ," she said with a wink, turning her head to face Link, who was being intruded by Lana herself.

Worriedly, Zelda began to pace over to Link, but she was far too late.

Link had already turned his heel, dashing out of the auditorium and down the hallways.

This planted a seed full of only fear in Zelda's stomach. Feeling her heart rate began to gradually pick up, she grabbed Lana's wrist as they stood by the exit.

Since Lana wouldn't be able to understand a lick of sign language, Zelda furrowed her brows and harshly threw a finger in Groose's direction. Lana stared at her quizzically until she dashed away.

The loud thuds emitting from the auditorium rang throughout Zelda's ears, like a taunting melody of some kind. It twisted her stomach into thousands of uncomfortable knots.

Zelda opened the exiting doors of the school, running out into the rain. It was even heavier than it was prior to now, but that was the lead of her worries.

She could faintly see the silhouette of Link making his way somewhere, which she quickly followed.

Everything that Zelda sought to be perfect tonight was utterly, and sadly, being destroyed right before her very eyes.


	29. Twenty-Nine

_Are you really letting jealousy consume you like this? All because you were stupid enough to not tell a girl you loved her?_

 _Pathetic._

"Shut up," Link mumbled, voice cracking in the process.

A voice in the back of his head stopped speaking so cryptically to him. Link stopped just before he could run out into the open roads, staring at the headlights of the cars that zoomed by. The lights could have blinded him if he decided to continue looking. Some of the children in the cars stared at him strangely, most likely wondering why a teenager like him was standing out in the muddy, rainy weather, wearing an expensive outfit.

Before rushing across the street that divided the school from everything else, Link looked both ways before crossing. A childish rule he had always lived by, and now, he would not mind if he did not follow it. However, he crossed the street safely, and then the depths of his mind began to crawl at him again.

Link cursed himself for overreacting like so again. This always happened, no matter the circumstance. He always tried to find a way to become jealous of something or someone, and it was one of his qualities he hated the most about himself.

He continued to demean himself. He was being selfish and taking everything for granted. And he knew that this was the case, because his life was swell, compared to anyone else dealing with similar problems of his. He was blessed with a kind family, a wonderful (yet rambunctious) little sister, trustworthy friends, a comfortable roof over his head, all the writing utensils and games he could want in the world, food on the table, and so much more. Yet, he was taking that all for granted; how selfish.

The mind works differently for those who are strong and those who are weaker in the head.

Snapping back into reality, Link found himself standing at entrance of the school's park. It wasn't familiar at all to him upon first sight, but after glancing at the swing set and one of the benches, perched underneath a tree, he remembered something. Hanging out with Zelda here in their freshmen year of high school.

Things were better, then. They weren't good, but they were better.

Link stopped walking, collapsing to the ground with shaky hands and pupils almost the size of a grain. His hands were covered in the rainwater that lingered on the sidewalk, and that harsh rain pounded against his back.

What was going on with him? He had never broken down this badly before. It was just a simple incident, and here he was, contemplating over whether his life was worth it or not.

But was it really? He only had a small amount of friends friends and his family members. The public eye saw that as pathetic as he did. He got angry easily, snapped often, broke down at the slightest disturbances in his life, turned others away too easily, annoyed people...

Getting upset over such trivial things was so stupid, but he couldn't help it.

Link heard footsteps clattering on the sidewalks behind him, but he didn't dare to turn around. A warm hand tried to reach out and hold his own, fingertips only brushing against his hand, but then falling to the wet grounds.

Whoever was behind him began to weep, falling to their knees as they did so. This alerted Link a little bit, now curious about the person who decided to cry behind him.

When he did turn around, he was shocked (or maybe not that shocked) to see Zelda Harkinian kneeling there. Hands covering her entire face and small cries emitting from her lips, she didn't move her knees away from the ground.

Link felt terribly guilty for making the girl he loved cry and sink this low. He added that to his list of things he wished he could change; things he hated about himself.

Shakily, Link stood up, gazing ahead at the statue in the middle of the park—it was an image of the goddess, Hylia, standing proudly in the middle of the fountain. Rain patterned against the surface of the fountain and the statue itself, creating a small glimmer of light with the provided sunshine above.

There was water in the fountain.

 _Water can easily drown a person if they work hard enough._

The words echoed in his head, and they never came back. Link began to mentally scold himself for thinking such thoughts. So intrusive. Why would he end his life for such stupid reasons. He could definitely change... he could. Just give it time.

 _Not today._

He heard Zelda's heels clank against the sidewalks again, standing up and taking a step closer towards him.

He began to wonder—why was she even out here? It was chilly and raining horribly right now. Link would have thought that Zelda would much prefer to stay in shelter, all dry and cozy.

" _Link_ ," she signed once he looked her way. He had an _obvious_ fake smile on his face.

She sniffed, tears still spilling down her cheeks.

Link's smile dropped immediately, however, once he saw her face clearly.

Zelda clenched her fists together in anger, but she didn't do anything to harm Link. She contained herself, seeing as this was the only way to express how furious she had become.

" _I know what you were thinking about doing_ ," she said, her anger slowly melting away as she signed her words. " _Why?_ "

A frown appeared on his face, eyebrows lowering as he sadly stared at his shoes.

Tears suddenly pooled in his eyes, and he covered those eyes with both of his hands. Zelda eventually looked up at him, a frown appearing on her face and eyes watering as she watched Link break down.

When he had gotten enough tears out, he knelt on the ground. Choking on his pathetic sobs, he averted his eyes upwards and towards Zelda, who was kneeling down in front of him as well. Those eyes—the eyes Link loved so very much—held so much sorrow and pain in them.

He never wanted to be the cause of such an expression.

" _I'm sorry_." Link was preparing for another onslaught of tears to commence. Before that could happen, Zelda gently placed her hand over his. Glancing down at her hand, he looked back up at her face.

" _Don't apologize_ ," she signed, moving her hand away from his. " _You didn't do anything wrong_."

He sniffed. " _I'm just...tired of all of this. I managed to lose all of my friends in such a short amount of time, and—and there's always that stupid, stupid sense of doubt that stops me from reaching any goal of mine..._

" _I'm being so selfish, aren't I? I have so much, yet I'm only focusing on the few negative things in my life. I don't know why I'm letting these things affect me so much, I just_..." Link stopped signing there, sitting his hands down on his lap and getting all of those frustrated tears out of his system.

Zelda just watched with sympathy, trying to conjure up the right words to say to him in a scary, stressful situation like this. She could _not_ use the incorrect words right now.

But, a wise person once said, actions speak louder than words.

Unfortunately, she was too much of a coward to do a bold thing like _that_. So, she opted for grabbing his hand again, gently, and intertwined their fingers together. Link looked up at her, then to his hand, and back at her. As a reassurance, she held his hand tighter.

He was confused by her actions.

A smile curved up onto her lips, exhaling a sigh. Keeping her hand in his, she continued looked at him with so much care and love in her eyes. The look in those eyes made Link's heart thump louder and quicker against his ribcage, his palms growing sweaty at the thought of what could happen. He bit his lip and tried avoiding her gaze, which was physically impossible for someone as love-stricken as him.

The comfort of her simply holding his hand was enough to calm his shaky breaths down. He was grateful that he was finally able to calm down after that _terrifying_ panic earlier.

" _Link, I need to tell you something_ ," she quickly signed her words after releasing their hands, taking this as her only chance.

He noticed her words, trying to stop himself from crying so pathetically in front of the girl he loved. " _Yeah?_ "

A blush ensued on her cheeks, even going as far as to reaching the tips of her Hylian ears. Breathing in and out, she decided to approach this the best way she could.

" _I can't change your mind so easily. I know you think the world despises you, but I want to say the truth—you're wrong_ ," she said. " _Lots of people care about you—I've seen it. Even if you don't."_

Then, her saddened expression turned into joy. " _And I have you, too. You can think all you want about how I think of you, but I'll say it now—I really do care about you. I'll say that as many times as I need to, as long as you understand it_."

Link cracked a smile. " _Liar_."

Mocking astonishment, Zelda puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. " _Am not! I really care about you, in a—a certain way, y'know. Can you figure it out?_ "

" _Figure it out?_ " Link repeated her words. " _You're my frie_ -"

"You're close," Zelda stopped him before he could even finish the word, waving her hands up after signing her words. " _Try again_."

"Um..." Link thought about it for a moment, and when one thought came across his mind, that's when his face turned a shade of red.

Zelda groaned. " _I don't know if I'm too naïve to say this, but_..."

She couldn't possibly get herself to say the words. Impossible is what it was, and Zelda could only think of one other way to get this across Link's, apparently, dense head.

Without any warning or distractions, Zelda quickly moved closer to Link's face. And there she did it—placing her lips on his, the sensation making her heart explode and her eyes close.

Of course, he was taken aback by her bold action. But when she didn't seem keen on moving away, he closed his eyes, too, and smiled through their first kiss; it wasn't a kiss with fireworks exploding in their stomachs and weird butterflies suddenly fluttering about. It was nothing like the books said—it was simple and pure and was _theirs_. They both maneuvered their arms around each other in an attempt to draw closer to the other. Their bodies melded into one, almost, soaking in the faint, signature scents they both wore.

Zelda was the one to pull away first after starting to lose a breath. She gasped when she leaned away and Link stared at her lips, which were only swollen in the slightest, but still so wonderful and pink. Her face was caked in her own blush, but the look in her half-lidded eyes and the small smile on her face proved how overjoyed she was feeling.

Link assumed he looked the exact same as she did right now, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction keeping that smile on his face.

" _I really do love you, Link_ ," Zelda finally signed, eyes averting up and looking directly at Link. " _Please—don't doubt my words for a single second_."

Goddesses, she made him so happy. His smile never wavered, still processing her words into his brain. Link wasn't even sure that this moment was even real, because frankly, it really was too good to be true.

Link didn't even want to go back to prom, goodness no. There would only be people there to distract him and Zelda from—well, anything really.

The two of them stood up, hand in hand. The rain around them concealed the world before them, making the draw distance unreadable. However, the only thing that mattered in this world was each other. For now, at least, and hopefully forever.

" _Might I say that you look beautiful tonight?_ " Link signed with a smirk, causing Zelda to bashfully smile.

Zelda scoffed, trying to think of reasons why he could think that. " _Might I add that you look dashing in that outfit?_ " she retorted her compliment.

He just rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling joyful. Although his eyes still felt dry from all the tears he shed, panic he felt and the small fear of what could've happened moments prior to now, he tried to push all of those negative thoughts away. Besides, he was with the person he cared about most. That was enough to prevent bad thoughts from entering his mind.

Trying to act as gentlemanly as he could, Link held out his hand quite elegantly to Zelda, even bowing a bit as if she was a princess.

No words were exchanged, but Zelda knew exactly what he was suggesting. With a small giggle escaping her lips, rosy cheeks and a soft smile resting on her face, she gingerly placed her hand in his. Warmth encased her skin when he wrapped his fingers around her hand, the two of them getting in the proper position to dance. There was no music, but that was even better a song to dance to. Especially for the sake of Zelda who could not hear.

They tried to dance elegantly together in the rain, but their attempts proved to be fruitless. Link wasn't as elegant as Zelda was when it came to slow dancing, which lead to him stepping on her feet as a result. Zelda didn't mind at all, though, just laughing merrily at his mishaps. Link laughed too, not feeling any sort of embarrassment with his slip ups for once in his life.

Peaceful and pure moments like these were everything Link had wished for when it came to loving someone. The fear of falling in love slipped from his mind as he slowly swayed with Zelda in the rain, and everything became a little calmer and a little more clear.

Zelda quickly leaned in for a small kiss, a smile still glued to her face. Her lips came into contact with his once more, those great emotions running through Link's head again.

 _How about we try to change?_

Link thought that was a wonderful idea.


	30. Thirty

Link could consider himself a living reminder that things can and will get better if you give it enough time. Whatever he had been suffering through years ago was like an old, nightmarish memory to him now.

Graduation was today, and all the students of Hyrule High were clothed in the appropriate outfits for such an occasion. They wore their special hats for the graduation ceremony, the ceremonial gowns a navy blue color and adorning every person in the student body. Groups of students laughed and joked together, sharing memories from the four years of high school and predicting what their future would end up being like.

However, Link was the wallflower in this situation, as per usual. Although his mind was calm and peaceful now, that didn't mean his hate for huge public events diminished. Even before what happened years ago, he had always been a quieter person. Making a big scene and socializing with everyone he saw wasn't his priority. Then, there was the common stage fright—what if he tripped over his own shoes while accepting his diploma? That'd be embarrassing, and surely he'd be known as the clumsiest person to accept a diploma.

He also knew he was overthinking the situation. Another part of his conscious told him that he would do this perfectly without any fault. Everyone would cheer and clap, or just clap, but, they wouldn't laugh at a mishap he performed.

Standing up, he acknowledged a red Zora man rushing over to him with a very happy look in his eyes. This was Sidon, the slightly younger brother of Mipha, one of Zelda's good friends. Link didn't know how it happened, but he ended up becoming great friends with this overly-positive Zora.

"Link! Oh, aren't you excited?" Sidon exclaimed. He was so much taller than Link, and that was something the smaller Hylian teen noticed frequently.

"Mhm," Link mumbled. "When is it starting again?"

"Right now, actually," Sidon said, that positive smile never leaving his face. "I wanted to come and get you so you wouldn't be late."

"I appreciate it," Link said, his hands growing clammy as they began to enter the auditorium together.

There were so many people in this room, as opposed to the hallway that Link and a handful of other students lingered in moments prior to now. Everyone was shouting and yelling with excitement, and a small group of Zora girls began to squeal when Sidon came into their view. That was his small _fan club_ , as they deemed themselves—the number one fans of Sidon to ever exist! Sidon was flattered that he had a fan club running just for him, but was also a bit disturbed by it. Nobody else had a fan club for just their being, not that he knew of.

"So many people..." Link commented under his breath.

Sidon suddenly turned to face Link, grabbing both of his hands. "Link! Please do not worry about this event, I assure you - and I know it! - that you'll be fine! You're amazing! You're incredible! I support you so-"

Link nervously laughed at his friend's overexcitement and positivity. Sidon was truly a wonderful person and Link was glad that they were friends. Aside from his constant reminders to Link that he was "amazing," Sidon was just a great person in general.

His older sister came running over to the two of them, followed by Midna and Zelda. Sidon let go of Link's hands and smiled at everyone.

When Link laid his eyes on Zelda, he felt a lot calmer in this situation. Zelda easily noticed his how antsy he was acting, smiling warmly and taking his hand in hers. Without hesitation, they intertwined their hands together, Zelda leaning her head on Link's shoulder.

Mipha was elated for them, and she had been since they became official last year in the beginning of eleventh grade. Her small crush on Link did diminish over time—letting him go would be the best thing to do, perhaps, rather than become jealous over her friend. Besides, Mipha didn't need someone like Link any longer. She had Midna, now.

At the same time, Midna began to talk about how Link and Zelda were soulmates, her eyes filled with happiness whenever she spoke of their love. Zelda grinned at this and remembered all the times Midna had spoke of desperately desiring a significant other. It made Zelda happy to know that Midna had finally found someone.

Just as Midna delved into the topic of how they first met, according to what she knew, the principal of their school stood up on the stage and tapped the microphone. All the students huddled up into the middle of the room, as they were told to do, and anxiously awaited for their names to be called.

In just moments, they would become official adults. Both Zelda and Link found this idea to be rather scary, but they were very hopeful about their future.

They knew they'd be spending it together, of course.

Ganondorf Dragmire, principal of Hyrule High, tried to smile the most welcoming and appealing smile he could muster. His neutral facial expression was a scary sight for many, and trying to make that seem welcoming could be a challenge for the older Gerudo man.

"Ahem," he began, tapping the microphone a couple of times to make sure it was working properly. When it made a loud, squeaking noise - every student (aside from Zelda, of course) covered their ears - he knew it was working dandily.

Link nervously watched their principal speak, soon beginning to call out everyone's names. Varieties of students stepped onto the stage effortlessly, graciously taking their hard-earned diplomas and flashing overwhelmingly happy smiles towards the crowd. People cheered for everyone—such a positive moment, and Link even considered the fact that the entire student body would go dead silent once he took his.

That time did come though, and Mr. Dragmire announced his name to the school. People began to cheer as they did for everyone else, much to his shock, as Link stood up from the folding chair he was sitting in.

Zelda quickly stood up and caught him before he could disappear, placing a delicate kiss on his lips before he walked away.

Love stricken and blushing, Link smiled the happiest smile she had ever seen him wear.

Midna had screamed when they kissed again, while their other friends ushered for Link to "get his ass on the stage."

He did as told, obviously, walking up to Mr. Dragmire as calmly as he could, despite how much he was screaming on the inside. Zelda's love for him made him feel a bit more calm, but nonetheless he was petrified. All eyes were on him, and if he did anything stupid, the people with those glowing eyes would laugh, surely.

Mr. Dragmire handed Link his diploma, shaking his hand afterwards.

"I'm suppose I could say I'm proud of you," muttered the principal under his breath. "Good job."

With a smile, Link nodded as thanks, staring back at the student body to see them still cheering and smiling. Just as they had been doing for the heaps of students before him.

The rows of teachers clapped behind him, and Link even heard Mr. Ghirahim crying.

"All my students - grown up! Such a touching moment for my poor, dead soul!" his flamboyant teacher wept, with the comfort of his blue haired wife there to support him.

Zelda was just smiling tenderly from afar. She couldn't express her emotions right now; she was the one to watch him grow from being a hopeless and cowardly soul, to the happy person he was now. She was grateful that he had finally found peace in his own mind.

And when Link saw her smile, he could only think - _she has a smile like the sun_.

He rushed back over to Zelda, the cheers of the students having died down and awaiting the next person to receive their diploma.

Eagerly awaiting his return, Zelda immediately flung her arms around his neck when he was beside her, snuggling her face into his chest.

Link held her as close as possible, heart soaring and that contagious smile of his never leaving his face.

"Aw, look at them," Midna cooed, only Mipha overhearing her fawn over the couple.

Midna dramatically placed her hand over her heart, and then grazed her fingers over Mipha's shoulder. "You know, Mipha, I'm glad I trusted my instincts back in ninth grade."

"Your instincts?" Mipha repeated with her soft voice and sighed into the touch.

"Mhm." Midna nodded, looking down at Mipha. "I did ship them a bit in ninth grade, and I was hoping something would happen. I'm glad things did happen, but it took so _long_."

Mipha chuckled. "Almost four years too long."

"Reminds me of that game Zelda likes, the one that was delayed for three years," Midna chimed in with a laugh.

Mipha and Midna began to chat about anything that came to mind, occasionally cheering whenever someone else received their diploma. Out of the corner of her eye, Zelda watched with a grin as Midna sneakily (or not so sneakily) intertwined her fingers with Mipha's.

Zelda and Link were only chatting amongst themselves now. He put his arm around her shoulders as she signed to him, listening raptly. She was used to the slight, innocent touches and other physical contact he was comfortable doing around her, and yet, even after being in a relationship for so long now, it still sent shivers down her spine and tinged her cheeks red.

" _I'm nervous to get my diploma_ ," Zelda signed with, all of a sudden, scared eyes.

" _I was too, obviously_ ," Link replied. " _Just breathe, I_ know _you'll be fine up there. I'll cheer you on from afar, like you did for me!_ "

" _How sweet_ ," she commented, putting her hands down and looking at the stage for a moment and then back at Link. " _You're turning into Sidon_."

" _No way! I'm not_ that _cheerful_ ," Link instantly declined. Zelda chuckled internally, facing the stage once more.

Mipha had just walked up there, smiling volatility as she held her newly earned diploma. Just after she walked off the stage, moments later, Sidon waltzed up there jubilantly. It was clear to anyone that knew the two Zora siblings that Sidon was the extrovert, while Mipha was the introvert.

 _Just don't overthink it_ , Zelda reminded herself, slightly turning her head to face Link. He was staring straight ahead at the stage, clapping for his friends, his arm no longer around her shoulders. She couldn't help but smile at how happy he looked, looking back down at her feet and feeling her smile drop.

 _Link was able to do it, so I can too_ , she thought. _I got this_.

Just as those words flew across her mind, Link enveloped her in a tight, but comforting hug.

Her eyes shot upwards, and everyone was cheering and looking straight at her. Had the principal called her name?

Hoping that her theory was incorrect, she looked over Link's shoulder and saw the rest of her friends staring at her and cheering wildly. Link finally let go of her, looking more excited for his girlfriend than he was for his own graduation.

Zelda forced a smile, which turned into a genuine one once Link planted a quick kiss on her lips. When he pulled away she simpered, then shuffling through the rows of people and making her way to the stage.

She didn't know if the cheering had died down or not. That was her problem—she could only _read_ facial expressions. Zelda didn't know whether or not they were laughing at her or cheering.

Mr. Dragmire tapped her shoulder, startling the brunette and making her turn to face him. With a grin, he handed Zelda her rightfully earned diploma.

Zelda turned around and faced the crowd once more, trying her best to spot out Link before she did anything else. Indeed he was cheering her on more passionately than everyone else, smiling one of those genuine smiles that she loved.

It made her all giddy inside when she realized how much she loved him, and how she always noticed the small, itty bitty things about him. Things that made her love him even more.

Stepping off of the stage, she skipped back over to her friends, only to be bombarded in a friendly, yet suffocating, group hug.

Well, Sidon just stood there awkwardly, since he didn't know Zelda that well. However, his older sister noticed him just standing there like that, and she grinned; gesturing for him to join the group hug, he did so reluctantly.

The graduation ceremony ended a few hours later, with the entire student body throwing their hats in the air and yelling with joy in their hearts.

Link, Zelda, and everyone else decided that they would plan a celebration party of some sort soon.

" _Why can't we do it tonight?_ " Midna whined, feeling a bit bummed out when Zelda told her the plan.

" _You know...I want to spend time with that idiot over there_ ," Zelda signed back, then pointing over at Link, who was happily conversing with Mipha and Sidon.

Midna playfully rolled her eyes, her signature smirk appearing on her face. " _Well, you two have fun. Not in that way, though. Not_ yet."

" _Midna_..." Zelda signed half heartedly, her face increasingly turning the same color of a tomato.

" _Your face!_ " Midna laughed, then wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulder. Zelda looked up, her face still covered in red.

" _We're definitely gonna do something over the summer, alright?_ " Midna signed, removing her arm from Zelda's shoulder.

Her blush slowly disappearing, Zelda nodded firmly at her friend's words. " _Of course!_ "

The silly aura between them died down, and they both smiled thoughtfully at each other. An overwhelming mix of all sorts of emotions captured both of them, and only Zelda felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

" _We've stuck together for a long time, haven't we?_ " Midna reminisced, holding her arms out to Zelda, who was full-on crying now.

Zelda just nodded, wrapping her arms around the figure of her best friend. She was so, so incredibly grateful to have someone like Midna in her life, someone who had stuck with her since their old elementary days. Why, Zelda herself believed that she didn't deserve someone as amazing as Midna in her life, but here she was.

She continued to weep in her best friend's arms, until Midna pulled her away.

" _Hey! Don't cry_ ," she immediately signed, staring worriedly at the tears stained on Zelda's rosy cheeks.

" _Midna, thank you for existing in my life_ ," Zelda said, wiping her tears away afterwards and mustering a smile, despite her nostalgic and happy tears. " _And thank you for holding on to me for so long_."

Midna smiled one of those caring smiles, a rarity to see. " _Same with you, Zelda. You're my best friend, okay? You always will be_."

After Zelda and Midna's emotional departure (even though they'd be seeing each other in a few days), everyone bid their saddened goodbyes to each other and went on their way. Midna and Mipha opted to go home together, with Sidon tagging along, of course. Others simply dissipated from the school.

Link had already started up the car, with Zelda sitting beside him in the passenger seat. She was staring out the window and at the sunset ahead, admiring the beauty and colors that they sky produced this evening.

He wistfully admired her, not even daring to compare the skies to her beauty - she'd beat the sky, and even the moon, in a pretty contest.

Zelda blinked, summoning herself out of the trance she was encased in. After regaining her sense of reality, she turned to face Link and smiled lightly at him, to which he returned that with a smile of his own. One of his comforting and caring smiles, the kind that was so sweet only upon viewing.

They decided on spending the night at Link's house, as scheduled beforehand. Link's parents were ecstatic to have Zelda spend the night at their house and to properly meet her this time. They had met her before, but it was only brief occasions at school and such. Link only feared the antics that Aryll would make up when Zelda was there with them.

Pulling into the driveway of his home, Zelda jumped out of the car, Link following close behind her.

They entered through the garage, taking off their shoes upon entering. While Link began to walk off into the living room dully, Zelda admired his home and looked around with every chance she got.

The first person she got to meet was Aryll, of course, who came bouncing into the living room with her friend, Tetra.

"Oh, there's Link," Tetra commented under her breath, and Aryll ran up to her older brother.

"How was graduation? What does it feel like to be an old man, now?" Aryll asked her questions with such excitement.

Link glared at her. "I'm not an old man, not yet."

"You're not even in school anymore, so you're considered an old man in my eyes," Aryll said matter-of-factly, triumphantly crossing her arms over each other.

Then, she looked at Zelda. "Wow! Zelda changed a lot since I last saw her!"

She walked up to Zelda, to which the brunette girl discovered that she didn't have to kneel down to reach Aryll's height. A smile graced her lips as they shook hands.

Aryll pulled her hand away. "I learned two sentences for Zelda, in sign language."

" _Nice to meet you_ ," Aryll began with her signs, carefully examining her hands to make sure she was doing this correctly.

" _And thank you for making my brother happy_ ," she finished off, and she smiled kindly at Zelda. Seeing her do such a thing was a rare sight for Link, but he easily read the words she had said to his girlfriend.

 _I can't tear up again_ , Zelda thought grumpily to herself, deciding to just hug Aryll back in reality. She contained her tears easily, somehow.

Zelda was able to meet both of Link's parents next, which was not as bad as she had imagined. Although she was nervous through the whole thing, Link easily translated her words to his parents, and vice versa to her. So, it really went well. Not that bad.

Both of his parents could tell that they just wanted to spend alone time together, so that ended their small discussion. They bid a goodbye to the two lovesick adults-to-be, watching them trek up the stairs.

Link lead Zelda to his room, opening the door and entering. Upon doing so, Link spread his arms out wide and mockingly showcased his normal looking room.

Zelda giggled a bit when she noticed his act. He showed her the small TV he never used, his desk (where lots of writing was produced), his radio, his bookshelf, and his movie collection. And last but not least, his full sized bed, complete with mounds of green blankets. Most of which were lazily hanging off the actual frame and covering the floor.

" _This is cozy_ ," Zelda commented, casually sitting on the edge of his bed. When she felt her figure sink into the mattress, it didn't take long for her to find a comfortable position on the marvelous thing.

Link smiled at her excitement over the mattress, and sat on the edge of his bed, crossing one leg over his other leg. He watched Zelda struggle to become comfortable for a few seconds, but she eventually found her way. The next thing she did was grab one of the many pillows on the bed, laying it over her face and practically suffocating herself.

Chuckling internally, Link climbed onto his bed and laid down beside her, resting his head on the other pillow he owned and keeping his back against the bed.

Zelda spent a few more seconds with her face buried in the pillow, until she eventually rolled back over, revealing her face as she gasped for fresh air.

" _Suffocating yourself with a pillow and then breathing fresh air again is quite the experience_ ," Zelda signed with a small chuckle. " _I like to live on the edge_."

" _You_ are _very edgy_ ," Link lazily signed, yawning a bit afterwards and smacking his lips together.

With a cheeky smile on her face, she sat up and stretched her arms out. Link watched her yawn, then sat up himself. The two began a full on staring contest, before Zelda gave up and left Link to congratulate himself for his victory.

A mental debate was going on in her head, however. Zelda had a risky question on her mind for the longest time now, and she never knew when the right moment to ask it would be. This was a simplistic moment, it would work, but she had no idea what the result would be. Nonetheless, having the question weighing on her mind only stressed her more. She decided to get it out now.

" _I have to ask_ ," she started, " _are you happy?_ "

There was the moment of shock for Link, where he would process the question and then began to think. Was he _really_ happy? He had no idea. He definitely noticed a difference in his mental behavior, comparing the present to the past, but it was hard to decipher. Was all that pain long gone now?

There were still certain things that felt the same as they did years ago. Link couldn't tell if that was _normal_ or not. However, the darkest thoughts never seemed to come close to his mind. He liked to believe that the dark things he thought of were only minor, compared to before. Most definitely.

Despite all that, and above all else, he had found someone who helped him discover the purpose of his life. Some people say that you should find an object, or anything else to sympathize with and find purpose in. Maybe some would see it that finding purpose in a person to be strange or unnatural. That thought never occurred to Link anymore, though. This was perfectly normal, as society _should_ portray it.

Link stopped thinking—he had to give her an answer eventually. He didn't smile, but he nodded in reply to his beloved. " _I believe so. And you know, you helped me make it this far_."

A small moment he remembered from years ago came to mind, and he decided to inform Zelda of it.

" _In tenth grade, I started to realize that I was falling in love with you. At that time, I was so low that I...you know, I didn't think it was right for me to love anyone_ ," he explained shortly, feeling like the words he had signed were a bit vague. Nonetheless, a better explanation could not come to his mind, so he left the discussion at that.

" _I'm just_ really _glad I have you, Zelda. Thank you for everything,_ "he signed one more time, seeing countless memories fly across the depths of his mind, bringing him back to those moments. Vividly, he could remember the faint sounds of the cafeteria—students yelling and laughing over such pointless things—and how his eyes mainly focused on one, particular person in the room. Obviously, it was Zelda, and the more he remembered the memories they shared, the more he realized just how advantageous she made him.

Just like the night of prom a couple years before now, it made him happy. Especially the person who, simplistically, saved his life in a matter of years.

He never believed that she would ever treat him kindly after their rather rough past together. However, Zelda paid no mind to their past encounters whatsoever, and she let him crawl back into her life once again. Link wished he could be as optimistic as Zelda appeared to portray herself, but he knew that would never be a thing.

Zelda thoughtfully smiled once more, gently intertwining her fingers with his and holding up their hands.

Briefly, she released her grip from his hand. " _I love you_ ," she signed, " _and thank you for putting up with me all these years, too_."

Link couldn't even begin to comprehend why Zelda would put it that way, but that was the least of his worries right now. Actually, that was the only worry currently. He was at peace once more, and peace was such a great thing to live in.

" _We shall greet the morning together, Link_ ," she signed her final words for tonight, pecking his lips one more time before laying down.

He didn't mind if she slept here tonight, and surely his parents wouldn't mind, either.

With that, he laid back down on the bed, lovingly kissing her forehead and noticing that she had already fallen asleep within seconds.

A smile danced across his face as he settled into his bed, pulling the covers atop both of their bodies and laying close to his girlfriend.

And there, Link was glad that he had the courage to live so long ago. Because if not, who would be here to live in such a perfect moment?

Yet, here he was now, _living_ , despite it all.

 **A/N: And that's the end! When I first wrote this back in 2017, it was mostly just a story for me to vent my frustrations in. I was depressed and lonely and writing for my friends was the one thing making me happy. When I completed this in May 2017, I was finally feeling the happiness I had lost sight of for three years. Writing did help, because I made so many good friends through it. Anyways, I know no one here cares about my dumb backstory, but thank you for reading this all the way to the end! I wanted to upload this all on so more people could read it. Be thankful lol, uploading all this was painful.**

 **ANYWAYS, I will finally shut up by giving you all a big hug for reading this. I am truly grateful for you all!**

 **Maybe I'll upload here more? Idk. I had other ideas for other fandoms (and TLoZ), but idk.**

 **Welp. That is it.**

 **Thanks again for reading!**


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